Early Works for Me If It Works for You II

iTunes Review

Before Postal Service, there was Dntel. Jimmy Tamborello (a.k.a. James Figurine) was part of the growing IDM-meets-glitch movement back in the mid-to late-‘90s, releasing Early Works For Me If It Works for You in 1999 (tracks 11-22 here, recorded 1995-97), and an EP, Something Always Goes Wrong, in 2000 (tracks 1-10, actually recorded back in 1994). Long out of print, Plug Research has now reissued those early works, along with no small number of tracks recorded from 1998 to 2002, around the time of Dntel’s highly regarded Life Is Full of Possibilities release. With labelmates Daedelus, Milosh, and Flying Lotus, Dntel is right at home on Plug Research, and fans of Life Is Full will no doubt spend hours getting to know these tracks, from the cool ambient washes to the kinetic beats and Krautrock-ish clicks and glitch. You’ll find melodies where you suspect there are none, and unexpected adventure when you think a hazy dreaminess will carry you away. It’s a far-reaching and expansive collection — overwhelming if you let it — but it’s also remarkably satisfying, not to mention inarguably impressive.