While they were part of the original '77 run of punk bands, seminal California act X couldn't get a proper record deal until Slash Records came along and released Los Angeles in 1980. The one upside to this delay: By the time they hooked up with Slash, X started dropping records at a rapid clip. Just over a year after Los Angeles came out, X was back again the fantastic Wild Gift.
Los Angeles is where you go if you want to hear X at its most raw. The tunes sound dirty and threatening, and that goes double for the lyrics (See 'Johnny Hit and Run Paulene'). Wild Gift, though, marks the band's progression towards a more rockabilly approach. Given that the tunes were either '70s leftovers ('I'm Coming Over,' 'It's Who You Know') or brand new reactions from the recently married songwriting team of Exene Cervenka and John Doe ('White Girl,' 'In This House That I Call Home'), it's about as literally a crossroads record as one can get.
Some of the tracks ('We're Desperate,' 'Adult Books') date all the way back to a 1978 single. 'We're Desperate' probably could have been on Los Angeles, but 'Adult Books' marks new musical territory for the band, as drummer D.J. Bonebreak and guitarist Billy Zoom rock out a Latin groove as Cervenka and Doe spin another yarn about urban destitution. Another shift can be heard in 'White Girl.' While Zoom's guitar is as menacing as ever, the band lets mood take precedence over a fast tempo.
Really, though, X's biggest change was in the lyrics. Writing about despair and desolation was always Cervenka and Doe's m.o., but here they start writing about each other. 'Beyond and Back' covers their spats ('You took a lot from me / I forgot you were a thief'). 'White Girl' expresses Doe's secret lust for another woman. 'When Our Love Passed Out on the Couch' retroactively sums up the couple's whole relationship.
Ultimately, though, these differences are miniscule. Ain't Love Grand aside, there's a line that stretches through all of X's records. Wild Gift picks up plenty of the darkness heard on Los Angeles while laying the groundwork for the country leanings of Under the Big Black Sun. If anything, it's like a psychobilly record without any horror or sci-fi themes to hide behind, and it's that kind of grit that makes it one of the saddest and greatest punk albums of all time.
Los Angeles is where you go if you want to hear X at its most raw. The tunes sound dirty and threatening, and that goes double for the lyrics (See 'Johnny Hit and Run Paulene'). Wild Gift, though, marks the band's progression towards a more rockabilly approach. Given that the tunes were either '70s leftovers ('I'm Coming Over,' 'It's Who You Know') or brand new reactions from the recently married songwriting team of Exene Cervenka and John Doe ('White Girl,' 'In This House That I Call Home'), it's about as literally a crossroads record as one can get.
Some of the tracks ('We're Desperate,' 'Adult Books') date all the way back to a 1978 single. 'We're Desperate' probably could have been on Los Angeles, but 'Adult Books' marks new musical territory for the band, as drummer D.J. Bonebreak and guitarist Billy Zoom rock out a Latin groove as Cervenka and Doe spin another yarn about urban destitution. Another shift can be heard in 'White Girl.' While Zoom's guitar is as menacing as ever, the band lets mood take precedence over a fast tempo.
Really, though, X's biggest change was in the lyrics. Writing about despair and desolation was always Cervenka and Doe's m.o., but here they start writing about each other. 'Beyond and Back' covers their spats ('You took a lot from me / I forgot you were a thief'). 'White Girl' expresses Doe's secret lust for another woman. 'When Our Love Passed Out on the Couch' retroactively sums up the couple's whole relationship.
Ultimately, though, these differences are miniscule. Ain't Love Grand aside, there's a line that stretches through all of X's records. Wild Gift picks up plenty of the darkness heard on Los Angeles while laying the groundwork for the country leanings of Under the Big Black Sun. If anything, it's like a psychobilly record without any horror or sci-fi themes to hide behind, and it's that kind of grit that makes it one of the saddest and greatest punk albums of all time.
However, Dntel's other 2001 release, the Plug Research-issued Life Is Full of Possibilities, proved to be the project's breakthrough. Applying experimental production techniques and abstract textures to songs sung by guest artists including Mia Doi Todd, Rachel Haden (that dog.), Chris Gunst (Beachwood Sparks), and others, the album helped set the standard for indie electronic music.
Life Is Full of Possibilities | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 30, 2001 | |||
Genre | Downtempo, glitch, experimental techno | |||
Length | 55:04 | |||
Label | Plug Research | |||
Producer | Jimmy Tamborello | |||
Dntel chronology | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The Guardian | [3] |
Muzik | 4/5[4] |
Pitchfork | 9.3/10[5] |
PopMatters | 8/10[6] |
Spin | 7/10[7] |
Uncut | [8] |
Life Is Full of Possibilities is the third studio album by American electronic music producer Dntel, released on October 30, 2001 on the Plug Research record label. A two-disc deluxe edition of the album was released in 2011, which featured four additional songs not included on the initial release along with remixed versions of other songs from the album.
'(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan', a collaboration with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, was released as a single in August 2002. Dntel would later collaborate with Ben Gibbard again for an entire album, Give Up, released under the name The Postal Service.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Jimmy Tamborello, except where noted.
![Life Life](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125854930/631031556.jpg)
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Umbrella' (vocals by Chris Gunst) | 4:43 |
2. | 'Anywhere Anyone' (vocals by Mia Doi Todd) | 4:37 |
3. | 'Pillowcase' | 3:30 |
4. | 'Fear of Corners' | 5:26 |
5. | 'Suddenly Is Sooner Than You Think' (vocals by Meredith Figurine) | 5:43 |
6. | 'Life Is Full of Possibilities' | 6:30 |
7. | 'Why I'm So Unhappy' (vocals by Rachel Haden) | 7:00 |
8. | 'Fireworks' | 6:48 |
9. | '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan' (vocals and lyrics by Ben Gibbard) | 5:45 |
10. | 'Last Songs' (guitar by Paul Larson) | 4:43 |
Deluxe edition bonus disc | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan' (Safety Scissors Spilled My Drink Mix) | 4:13 |
2. | '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan' (Barbara Morgenstern Remix) | 4:06 |
3. | '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan' (Superpitcher Kompakt Remix) | 7:08 |
4. | '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan' (Lali Puna Remix) | 3:41 |
5. | 'Your Hill' | 5:38 |
6. | 'This Is How It Will Be All Over' | 4:55 |
7. | 'Anywhere Anyone' (Nobody Remix) | 6:42 |
8. | 'Umbrella' (Version 1) | 4:46 |
9. | 'Footprints' | 6:01 |
10. | 'Last Songs' (Vocal Version) | 4:23 |
11. | 'Sorry_' | 5:41 |
12. | 'Anywhere Anyone' (Silent Servant & Regis Sandwell District Mix) | 5:10 |
13. | 'Anywhere Anyone' (Pearson Sound Beatless Reduction) | 6:03 |
References[edit]
- ^'Reviews for Life Is Full Of Possibilities by Dntel'. Metacritic. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
- ^DiGravina, Tim. 'Life Is Full of Possibilities – Dntel'. AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
- ^Wyse, Pascal (December 21, 2001). 'Dntel: Life is Full of Possibilities (Plug Research)'. The Guardian. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^Gardner, Neil (December 2001). 'DNTEL: Life Is Full of Possibilities (Plug Research)'. Muzik (79): 65.
- ^Cooper, Paul (November 15, 2001). 'Dntel: Life Is Full of Possibilities'. Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
- ^Cober-Lake, Justin (November 10, 2011). 'Dntel: Life Is Full of Possibilities (Deluxe Edition)'. PopMatters. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^Powell, Mike (October 24, 2011). 'Dntel, 'Life Is Full of Possibilities' (Sub Pop)'. Spin. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ^'Dntel: Life Is Full of Possibilities'. Uncut (55): 106. December 2001.
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