Trentemoller - The Last Resort (Pokerflat Records)

[healium]

Yea we review pretty much anything electronic and psychedelic (though that's a subjective term)...

 

Lots of reviews here for various downtempo type albums too...

 

I haven't heard this Trentemoller but I've got it on order - amazon.com delayed my order, said it would take another month - I couldn't deal with that so I ordered it from the HVM place along with Electrypnose, Slackbabba, and Tripswitch-Circuit Breaker - I'm very excited!

[traveller]

Tren*Te*Mol*er

 

 

Wrong

 

It's Trentemøller

 

So.. it's like, well I don't know how the danish "ø" is, I suppose it's similar to "ö"?

[Dajek]

A bit like marriage between cousins.

627912[/snapback]

Wow. This is by far the most precise description of the 'flaws' in teh scene. I like it : D

Psytrance needs some new blood

 

On topic - I can't say that I like all tracks on this one, but I can say that it is indeed the most worthy artist album I have heard this year. Tracks like "take me into your skin" and "always something better" as well as many others offer so much diversity with both acoustic and electronic instruments and heck, even some vocals in the 'vocal versions'.

 

Beautiful, diverse, melancholic, innovative.

[sleepingzombie]

The topic made me curious and I got the album.

Nice to taste different sounds , who cares if it is

psy,idm,ecc. or not .

 

Liked very much the atmosphere of the cd, with

its sad flavour.

 

Many moments not only are very melancholic but

also rendered in an innovative fashion (not really an easy

aim to achieve).

Some passages (for example the beautiful

entry of the sad melodic bells/keyboard landscape in

"the cold winter awaiting") had the power of both surprising me

and striking deeply my hearth.

 

A couple of tracks are really different from the sounds I'm

accostumed too ("Vamp", for example) but I understand

their function in the overall concept of the cd.

 

"Take me into your skin" is simply beautiful.

I'm making a cd for my car with some of the ambient

tracks I like more, and I put this one together with

Asura and Aes Dana.

 

I need some more listenings before rating it.

Anyway, thank you for made me discovering this artist.

[Gnome]

I tried but i cant.

Too "tech" for me.

Except for "Always Something Better",that's decent (and reminds me of Ochre,maybe thats why).

[DaZeD]

My neighbours will probably hate Trentemoller by now.

But I really love the very deep bass he uses.

 

Especially the first track, Take Me Into Your Skin...

 

Imo just perfect.

[Nurbs]

1. Take Me Into Your Skin

2. Vamp

3. Evil Dub

4. Always Something Better

5. While The Cold Winter Waiting

6. Nightwalker

7. Like Two Strangers

8. The Very Last Resort

9. Snowflake

10. Chameleon

11. Into The Trees (Serenetti Part 3)

12. Moan

13. Miss You

 

Every now and then an album is released that shifts my current musical preferences into completely different territories. It was in 94 with Prodigy's Music For The Jilted Generation. Astral Projection's Another World in 99' and subsequently Kox Box's Great Unknown and Hux Flux's Cryptic Crunch in 00'.

For almost 5 years i almo

 

st completely abandoned everything that went without the "Psy/Goa Trance/Ambient" label and recently started doubting the possibility to be utterly impressed by anything that is electronic and new. Spending hours with old recordings by Pink Floyd and crying over what was once a huge premise and turned into recycle bin or a money printing machine. Depends on what part of the Electronic scene you looked.

Trentemoller's music was introduced to me around a year ago by my Swedish friend Andres who sent me his Forest EP and told me that it's THE shit and i was forced to stop the Pink Floyd tune that i was playing. I was blown away from the first second by the intricacy, the caressing melodies and the little weird noises that give that special character to Trentemoller's sound. Since then i swallowed just about every Trentemoller bit i could aquire and my appreciation rose higher and higher almost to the point of a blind admiration.

And now we finally have the album. To be perfectly honest i've been having it over a month now and as soon as it was available for pre-order on Amazon i ordered my copy. But it's not the point of the review...

The album starts with one of the strongest tunes of the album, Take Me Into Your Skin, which sound to me a bit Ott'ish circa "in dub" album. Although a bit more uptempo. The angelic female voice that wraps up the tune is nothing but amazing and serves the tune right. Proper beginner of the album.

The second tune, Vamp is one of the weakest links and it's basically a digital dubby groover that sound like something that Leftfield might do shall they still be together. Nothing fancy here, a bit of a filler before another killer.

Evil Dub is exactly what the title says. The dubby bassline in fatter than Marlond Brando in his last days and those little scratchy Trentemoller trademark sounds are omnipresent here and give that warm, almost analog sound. One of my personal favorites here.

Almost Something Better is up next and it was originally concieved as a vocal track and it is also the first Single from this album. The vocals were stripped down here but they appear on the vocal version in the bonus CD that will be mentioned later. Unlike what happens most of the time, the instrumental version is weaker than the vocal version and after repeated listens to the vocal one, this, instrumental sounds tad empty. Not to say bad, just a bit awkward. A brilliant tune nonetheless with vinyl scratches and strings arrangements that give a somewhat James Bondian atmosphere towards the end of the track.

While The Cold Winter Waiting is another magical tune with some gentle sounds, acoustic percussion and sonic manipulations to spice things up. Sounds a bit like the music the Santa Claus would play in his Santa-mobile.

Nightwalker shifts the gear up and presents us a bit more familiar Trentemoller dancefloor oriented rhythm and sounds. Deep, funky, groovy tune that makes your head move without asking it.

Like Two Strangers sounds very similar to While The Cold Winter Waiting with it's winter strings sounds and laidback beats. The Santa comes back home and he's alone in Christmas. Once again.

The Very Last Resort is another dubby monster that has a very Youth bass sound and interesting Ennio Moricone on mushrooms feeling from the middle towards the end. Fantastic sound work here. Another personal favorite.

Snowflake starts with some more dubby basslines and developes into something rather weird and confusing musically. A bit of a filler in my humble opinion.

Chameleon is a track that AFAIK was already released and it's a typical Trentemoller dancefloor killer with jazzy percussion and quirky fat house beats. Pure sonical bliss.

Into The Trees (Serenetti Part 3) is another personal favorite that starts with absolutely awesome jazzy percussion and uber warm analog-like bassline and leads. The sound is lerger then life here and Trentemoller's sonic expertise here is fully evident.

Moan is another originally vocal tune that was stripped here and appears fully on the bonus CD. Once again, the vocal version sounds better and basically the same otherwise. This is another emotional epic tune with strong cinematic soundscape. Another favorite.

Miss You, the closing tune is the most minimal here and it's quite a sad ending for an absolutely mind blowing album.

Favorites: All of them are great really but if i was forced to give away the best they would be: 1!!! 3!!! 4! 8!! 10!! 11!!! 12!

Final words: Get it! It's the best album of 2006 and a perfect winter companion.

 

I'll write a review for the second CD when i'll have the power.

 

 

[Goa Bill]

[Nurbs]

 

Nice review Pavel . I own this cd and i like it a lot, there are some magical tunes inside

[Basilisk]

I am still looking to buy the ltd. edition 2xCD version online somewhere... any suggestions?

[NEMO.BOFH]

I am still looking to buy the ltd. edition 2xCD version online somewhere... any suggestions?

Amazon has it

[faze]

Amazon has it

Not for a while now, unless I am missing it. URL, please?

[NEMO.BOFH]

Yeah you are right... im sorry, 2 weeks ago, they still had it afaik

[Bahamut]

This is just cool music to listen to once in a while. Clever stuff with all sorts of 'micro' sounds and cool beats and effects. It's well done technically, it's detailed and entertaining enough for some time....

But still, I also find this empty music...by that I mean music without a soul: it doesn't inspire, stir the imagination or move me emotionally...so it will never be real favorite music of mine.

[faze]

Yeah you are right... im sorry, 2 weeks ago, they still had it afaik

Yeah, some time ago they still had it listed. I ordered it from them then, using the 2CD link, and they still sent me the 1CD one instead.

[Goa Bill]

Yeah, some time ago they still had it listed. I ordered it from them then, using the 2CD link, and they still sent me the 1CD one instead.

For me too, am too lazy to do something about it

[Mindphilux]

I have the 2xCD version and I admit this is fantastic stuff and easily in my tops for 2006... but I don't consider this IDM. Mostly minimal techno/house in my opinion, but could probably appeal to IDM fans.

[advance]

I love this double release.

 

I don't get the definition for IDM... what exactly is dancy about this? Intelligent, yeah, but I don't see anyone calling Infected Mushroom's early albums "intelligent trance" for that matter

 

This is downtempo trance, in my humble opinion... much more related to Carbon Based Lifeforms with a touch of Ott than to anything else I've heard.

 

I can sleep with it playing in the background... love it.

[Jeller]

then what is it doing here?

it is more psychedelic than lots of psytrance

 

and i would call it minimal

amazing artist indeed

[filitico]

I truly enjoy this music! I have to be in a different mindset to appreciate minimal and progressive music (the housier kind) I'm sure people around here also have heard stuff from Alex Smoke or James Holden and although personal taste might be different, at least an appreciation for the production of the music should be there since I find it more original than most psy trance lately *cough* darkpshyt

 

d{-'-}b

[Basilisk]

The Poker Flat guys ended up hooking me up with a link to a German webshop that had the 2xCD version... bliss! I really like the whole album, and the bonus CD is full of great tunes to blend with the deeper side of psytrance (as well as the fashionable Minilogue/Extrawelt side of things)... impressive genre-defying stuff! If you enjoy music that goes "click" as well as "boom" then give it a whirl.