Jimmy Tamborello is probably best known for his electro pop project Postal Service, which saw the producer team up with Deathcab For Cutie vocalist Ben Gibbard. As Dntel he's produced a large catalog of work that stretches back to the late 90s. The projects material ranges from the Postal Service precursor, Life Is Full Of Possibilities, to the warm fireside ambiance of 2012's Aimlessness. With Human Voice, his album for Matthewdavid's influential Leaving Records, you might expect that the talented producer would have teamed up with another group of vocalists. However, Tamborello takes a different approach; he treats the albums vocals, largely his own, as layers of sound to be played with like any other instrument. The tracks take cues from house and the mellower side of techno, with Tamborello exploring a little footwork on "If I Stay a Minute." Occasionally he moves in to looping territory that is reminiscent of The Field. "Bike Path" diverges from the rest of the Human Voice with its slow climbing arpeggios and minimal construction. Tamborello shows that he is definitely a master of his craft with Human Voice.

• music label: Leaving Records 2014

reviewed by Michu Meszaros 10/2014