I should preface this review by saying that you have to really be into some hardcore dark ambient shit in order to truly appreciate Dntel’s music. If not, taking in this expansive 3 disc set may be a little hard to stomach. The album is more of a Dntel anthology than anything else. The first disc is a re-mastered version of his demo EP, Something Always Goes Wrong, which was originally passed up for a record deal in the early 90s before finally being released in 2000. The second disc is his 1998 major label debut, Early Works For Me If It Works For You, while the third is a compilation of unreleased material.

It is easy to see why SAGW was passed up way back in the day. The ambient glitch moodiness is still there, but the lack of innovation and sonic variation makes it hard to justify an hour of creepy computer beeps and hissing hi-hats. The album’s unrefined nature can most likely be attributed to the poor technology at Dntel’s disposal during its creation (he claims to have only used a Kurzweil K2000s sampler/synthesizer and some basic MIDI software). If not for the narrative track titles – such as ‘In Which Our Hero Begins His Long and Arduous Quest’ – that serve to cement them into some kind of conceptual continuity, this would not be nearly as interesting a listen. The second disc is Early Works for Me. This is Dntel’s well known breakthrough – a cleaner sounding evolutionary extension of SAGW. Here we notice less fear in the production style, particularly in the drum programming. Deep rumbling bass kicks fill the soundscape while raging industrial machine gun snares occasionally pop in to pulverize the track.

The real treasure of the set lies in the third disc. Early Works For Me If It Works For You II is actually a compilation of material collected from old DATs, some of which remains unfinished. Here we see Dntel going even father out of his comfort zone with his experimentation. ‘Paul Guitar’ features live acoustic guitar by Paul Larson weaving in and out of the storm of Dntel’s manic beats. ‘Bluegrass (short)’ is nothing more than a sketch of vocal samples and ‘Incomplete 1′ is a backing drum pattern without any samples or instrumentation to accompany it. But none of this stuff is at all interesting if you’re not familiar with the man’s music. This is why it works as a compilation. If you have the patience, give it a listen. Be warned however, the lost material offers the opportunity to dissect the creative process of an imaginative producer. If you’re expecting a brand new Dntel album, this is not it.

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