Trentemoller: Always Something Better

Trentemoller, big man of 2005 house, gives us a taste of his forthcoming long-player in the form of a single and some remixes. “Always Something Better” is unexpectedly downtempo, at least in its vocal radio edit. This is a real DJ’s release — six versions of the same song — but there are some highlights: Richard Davis’ disembodied vocal; and the strong dub beat, fractured and compressed. Trentemoller’s lengthier treatments of the theme allow the idea time to percolate; five minutes into the original, an unexpectedly banging house beat emerges. The effect is nice, though the listener is left to wonder, sometimes, if they’ve earned this sense of climax. The Norwegian DJ’s great at laying down the elements that make ‘current’ techno, but sometimes the soul isn’t as easy to spot. Of course, Herbert’s bubble mix is a real highlight, but also a surprise: his burbling synths stay in the service of the source material, making it a tad more overt, but nowhere near over the top.