our average indie rocker and your average IDM head don't always find a lot of common ground. That seems to be changing lately, with more indie rock incorporating cutting-edge technology into their production, and IDM acts throwing in more live instrumentation to the mix. DNTEL's debut, Life Is Full Of Possibilities, offers up an even more visceral crossover fantasy - indie rockers collaborating with an IDM act. Nestled within skittery beats, synth tones, and glitchy clatters are some of the more potent voices in independent rock - Chris Gunst of Beachwood Sparks, Mia Doi Todd, and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie make appearances on the disc (along with some guitar from The For Carnation's Brain McMahan). These guests aren't entirely out-of-place - Jimmy Tamborello, the man behind DNTEL, did some time in an emo band before becoming a Powerbook soldier.


Tamborello has quite a few things on his side, impressive collaborators notwithstanding. He knows his Pro-Tools forwards and backwards. He has a knack for creating beautiful processed ambience, a la Fennesz. He easily incorporates a variety of sounds into consistent songs. However, Tamborello's strengths occasionally turn into weaknesses. An over-reliance on clichéd production techniques. Some static songs that don't hold up on repeat listenings. Similar song structures. On the whole, Life Is Full Of Possibilities comes out as, at the very least, an interesting experiment.


Things start out right with "Umbrella," with a big assist from Chris Gunst's vocals. The vocals are left untreated, but are occasionally cut up and flipped around slightly, like a more coherent Prefuse 73. A bass line fades in, along with some gorgeous processed ambient washes, a skittery beat, and even a little organ. The song follows a simple "build-up-fade-away" structure (as does almost every song on the album), but manages to maintain a beauty that sticks with you.


"Umbrella" segues nicely into "Anywhere Anyone," a more ambient affair, this time with vocals from Mia Doi Todd. The background textures meld well with the vocals, and although the song is somewhat static, it's pretty enough.


After these two songs, DNTEL's weaknesses start to appear in the two subsequent instrumentals. "Pillowcase" works as a transition track of sorts, with just some buzzes and hums, with sonar noises over top. It's not very necessary however, and the transition is into another instrumental, this one more of a song. "Fear of Corners" doesn't do much but pay homage to Autechre, with a percolating beat and gentle synth strings. It's not awful, but not exactly distinguished.


In fact, Tamborello doesn't really distinguish himself and get out of the "processed ambient glitch" rut until the ninth track. All the songs up until then suffer from a too-similar aesthetic, without doing anything to grab the listener. "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" does so in spades however. The beat starts in, soft, up-tempo, and heavily distorted. Then a clean beat jumps in, complete with shimmering treated strings and a simple bass line. Good stuff, and definitely refreshing. But then the vocals come in. Oh man. Tamborello owes Ben Gibbard a lot for this one. The vocals are nothing short of magnificent, as Gibbard describes a dream he had of a lost love over top of harmonized sirens. The track displays everything that is right with DNTEL, and also lays bare everything that detracts from the album. If Tamborello had pushed a little more, gone a little further, maybe the middle of Life Is Full Of Possibilities wouldn't be just good background music.


The album closes with "Last Songs," a nice instrumental with a hard beat and some acoustic guitar. Tamborello includes some symphony samples with great effect as well, giving the album a strong, forceful ending, but maintaining the fragile beauty that marks the rest of the disc.


Overall, Life Is Full Of Possibilities is an encouraging debut ("Evan and Chan" alone makes this CD worth checking out). DNTEL is poised to start making breakthrough music, or fall into a pit of clichéd glitch and easy-listening IDM. Let's hope Tamborello goes for the former.