TRENTEMOLLER

The kind of debut album that comes with a level of anticipation which eschews the more polite expectations of the minimal massive, Trentemoller has been cutting wax for what seems an age now - finally finding time to get a full fat LP under his belt. Clocking in at a satisfying seventy minutes, 'The Last Resort' could readily have evolved into an overlong series of tracks that would have preformed better on the 12" format - but it's to the Danes credit that there is a definite cohesion on display, kicking off with the icy vista of 'Take Me Into Your Skin'. Built around an encroaching shimmer of cold-water synths, the trademark minimalism is soon thawing the lower-end through subtle machinations that succeed in rendering an epic vision that doesn't rely on rent-a-philharmonics or bombastic gestures. Electronic at heart, Trentemoller nonetheless brings real instrumentation to the table through live drums, glockenspiel, melodica and guitar - all of which are used to provide a textured contrast rather than kick start some appalling crossover. Just as suitable for headphones as it is club sound systems, tracks like 'Vamp', 'Like To Strangers' and 'Snowflake' pickle their minimal stance with a pronounced seam of dubby textures and floating melodies that is subtle without becoming needlessly ethereal. Elsewhere, 'Always Something Better' alternates between hip-hop styles (courtesy of some concrete beats and crazy-leg scratching) and Eno-esque soundscapes, 'Chameleon' introduces cavernous atmospherics to chilly effect, whilst 'Moan' is a stunning batch of stuttering minimal that will bring out the poetic side in anyone.