Dntel: Aimlessness

After an album of folky, organic electro (2007’s Dumb Luck), Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello returned to his roots with the clubby late-night collection After Parties 1 and 2. Though Tamborello is given to collaboration - he’s best known to the general public for being one half of radio-indie titans the Postal Service - he’s most effective when working alone. Aimlessness is a logical progression, a stratospheric record wherein pop melody and ecstatic electronica coexist brilliantly. Like Caribou’s Swim, a fair comparison in both sound and movement, Aimlessness builds on its creator’s past but is implausibly fresh. “Bright Night” features sleepy Boards of Canada-style synths offset by a funky-fluid bass underworld; “Santa Ana Winds,” which features vocals courtesy of Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez, tenderly evokes the sweltering, destructive nature of the song’s namesake.