Album Review: Mistake, Mistake, Mistake, Mistake by James Figurine

Though in Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake Jimmy Tamborello (using the moniker James Figurine here) set out to make a minimalist techno album, influenced greatly by German label Kompakt, what he ended up with (and what he freely admits) is much closer to the indie-electronica/techno-pop warblings of his other band, the Postal Service. It is perhaps, slightly more club-oriented than anything on Give Up, as there are quite a few pieces that use sparse vocals (or none at all, like in "White Ducks"), including "You Again," whose claim of featuring Jenny Lewis means nothing more than a few nicely layered syllables (though Kings of Convenience's Erlend Øye is much more satisfying on the poppy "All the Way to China"), but there are still many overt hints of standard song structure that prevent Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake from really taking off in any one direction. Tamborello can't seem to really make up his mind about which way he wants to go, so he just swings back and forth between the two, which, while it isn't bad because he's adept in both styles, is a little aggravating.

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