By Hane C Lee

[OUT NOW]
DNTEL
DUMB LUCK CD SUB POP

More than five years in the making, Dumb Luck is Dntel’s follow-up to 2001’s Life Is Full of Possibilities, which featured the near-legendary (well, in indie rock circles, anyways) collaboration with Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard that led to the massively successful (see previous parenthetical statement) project The Postal Service. That’s a lot to live up to, and Dumb Luck doesn’t disappoint: every track is a meticulously arranged, tenderly played, bleeping masterpiece. Once again, the album’s genius lies in the constant tension between its more abstract technological effects—deconstructed fuzz, digital clicks and choppy beats—and the “live” elements—Paul Larsen’s guitar, Chris Hathwell’s drumming and, of course, melodies by guest vocalists like Conor Oberst, Fog, members of Lali Puna and Grizzly Bear, and others. Standouts include the sweetly understated “The Distance”; “Natural Resources,” a sort of gothic folk ballad that builds to a futuristic funk; and “Breakfast in Bed,” another one-night-stand-as-profound-romance shuffle sung by Oberst and a contender for slow-dance hit of the summer.