James Figurine: Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake

Jimmy Tamborello, aka Dntel, takes Figurines techno-pop, the more laptop-lo-fi and intricate sensibilities of his Postal Service and minimal house-inspiration from a German trip to create an essential album of quirky electronic twinkle-pop, with an edge and a twist. But an equal input is culled from the exact beats of producer John Tejada, who had already expanded his horizons beyond tightknit off-house through his electronica-meets-Tortoise-style jazz I M Not a Gun project. One of Tamborello’s fears has been to never again find a girlfriend and the album basks in this spirit of emotional calvary, with “Leftovers” asking: “Which one of these things could have make you stay?” Heartbreak-kindred Erlend Oye (Kings of Convenience) also makes a most appropriate guest appearance, lending his nerdily reflective deep voice to “All the Way to China”. Who knew that emotional navelgazing, with added electronic twitches, could be so melancholically charming? A mistake this album surely isn’t.