Customer Reviews

Last Resort

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amazon shows the picture of the 2 disc set, with the two sets of tracklistings on the back, but doesn't list it as the limited edition, or say it's 2 discs, so the initial release which came with the bonus disc may have sold through. I would make sure you seek out the limited with the second disc, or you are missing out on a full repoertoire of Trentemøller tracks.

The first disc is "The Album" and contains mostly tracks that stray from what we are used to from Trentemøller: mindwarping minimal. I'd say there are 3 that fans will warm up to right away, Nightwalker, Chameleon, and Into the Trees (Serenetti Part 3), as these closely resemble the minimal vibes from his previous work. Into the Trees continuing the variant melody of what was Serenetti and Serenetti Part 2. What we do find here is a solid blend of abstract and ambient minimal, expertly crafted into smooth scapes of electronica, that really requires the listener to pay attention. It certainly takes more than one listen, as upon my first play of the album, I was a little less than impressed, but quickly hooked by the 2nd time around. There is a lot more emotion and beauty in these tracks, which isn't necessarily found in the casual listens you could escape with in his other work. His tech house monster riffs required no part on the listener's mind, to fully engulf that body shaking sound, however you have to forget all that and finely tune your senses to this album.

Of course, this can all be chucked out the window with the second disc, as it's back to the churning tech house and minimal which made us all flock to Trentemøller in the first place. It contains nearly all of his previous singles released on the Audiomatique and Poker Flat labels. Sadly, one of my favorites was left off, Minimal Fox. Still, this 11 track disc, amazingly doubles as a 'best of' and a back catalogue, as nearly all his tracks end up becoming high end representations of the genre. Add on two excellent vocal versions of two album tracks, and you have a perfect bonus disc from start to finish.

The album itself is near perfect, except for the one track that annoyed me when it was first released, and much to my dismay, ended up on the album in the number 2 spot. It's called Vamp and was initially released on his Nam Nam E.P. along with Nam Nam and Killer Kat (both found on the second disc). It is a bass guitar chugging track that in my mind, goes nowhere. Barring that, from the epic first track which seems to just hit it's peak near the 7 minute mark, to the lullaby dreamscape of his final track, Miss You, it's apparent that we've just listened to a monumental electronic album by a Danish master of melodies. His new downtempo and ambient works require a little more warming up to, but once you're there, it's a blanket of music you just can't take off.

I was turned onto Trentemøller through my interest in house music, having it described to me as a cutting edge electro-house cd. Really, "The Last Resort" is a far more minimal, downtempo electronic affair, with greater emphasis on ambience and atmospherics rather than thumping house beats. Most of the songs showcase a sophisticated writing approach that goes beyond basic build-up play. Instead, the songs have an overt progressive structuring to them, shown especially with the sublime opener "Take Me Into Your Skin". The song starts with lifting ambient sounds, with textures gradually building to what I imagined to be a huge beat drop, but instead the ground gives way to a surprising anti-drop, a minimal beat driven by a heavy base, sounding as if you've just been plunged underwater. The song twists and turns as it re-builds steam, showcasing a deft touch for textures and layering, and a use of very organic sounds that forges a quite natural, dream-like atmosphere (this is a recurrent effect throughout the album). Gradually this builds to the final climax of a thunderous half-time full-on electro assault. The rest of the album tends to follow suit with this progressive styling, with most songs fashioning varying dynamics and sequences.

One aspect of the album I particularly enjoyed was the use of acoustic instruments. Being a guitarist and drummer myself, I always enjoy good use of acoustic sounds in electronic music. Two songs predominantly stick out for this, the first being the wondrous title track. The song evolves around a fast, swirling finger-plucked classical guitar part that is paired with a down tempo trip-hop beat, making for a trippy, trance-like groove. "Into The Trees (Serenetti Part 3)" builds its way through baselines and textural themes until it breaks down into acoustic drumming. A drum roll/march steadily builds as layers are added behind the mix, lifting the volume until a blistering drop is unleashed. This is one of the few moments on the album that showcases more traditional electro-house styling, and it works magnificently. The drumming is carried on throughout as the volume levels begin to drop and the song returns to the minimal electro groove.

Trentemøller has created a fresh sounding, exciting sound with "The Last Resort". This has become one of my favourite electronica releases in recent years. Highly recommended.

The debut effort from Danish DJ Anders Trentemøller is actually a bit of style-change for him. He is most known for his amazing remixes of various artist like Moby and Röyksopp, but his talent shines through on this album.
The Last Resort is a complete album, every song seemes to belong and the mood is just amazing. Put it on when you need to chill out, when you're making dinner, when you're chatting up your girlfriend. This could very well be the perfect soundtrack of our lives...

Every one of the stars is deserved one hundrede percent. Buy this album, you will not be disappointed!!

NOTICE: THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL 2-CD VERSION.
The second CD contains only 5 tracks and they seem to be unique to this release. These songs are remixes of the remixes on the original 2-CD version.

Other than being slightly disappointed in the second CD, knowing what the original contained,I am never the less satisfied with my purchase.

What can I say? This is just one of those CDs that you pop in and never skip a song, no matter how many times you have listened to it prior. If you are at all a fan of the genre, this album is a must.

If instrumental is your thing, grab the regular version, but the lyrical versions of Moan and Always Something Better are just brilliant.

I first heard of Trentemoller while watching someone's flash animation online with his song "Miss You" as the music. It was so achingly beautiful that I cried and I had to find the artist and buy the album. The entire album is beautiful ambient music and I love it. I highly recommend it.

I loved these tracks:

Take Me Into Your Skin
Evil Dub
Always Something Better (all three versions)
While The Cold Winter Waiting
Like Two Strangers
The Very Last Resort
Moan (instrumental only, vocal version seemed weak to me)
Miss You
Rykketid

These tracks I think are the true showcase of his talent and they definitely blow the vast majority of today's electronica out of the water. The rest of the tracks on both discs are of course layered and well done, but they just sound too dull, minimal and repetitive to me.

If those other tracks that I haven't listed above were done by some other minimal producer who is not as big as Anders Trentemoller, let's just say for example Loco Dice - I honestly don't think that there would be this much talk about them.

The Last Resort is definitely one of the most accomplished albums to be released in the electronic music cicle for quite a while. As the cover would suggest, the CD invokes an introverted, cold feeling in the listener from start to finish. Anders's energetic build-ups, instead of reaching a conventional climax at the end, prefer instead to lead to a more minimalistic section of the song. (A musical "blue-balls", if you will.) While this method is certainly innovative, it prevents the music from ever doing anything that jumps out and surprised the listener. When you're in a chilled-out mood, of course, you don't want any loud changes in your music, so it works out fine for a chill CD of beautiful music. Just nothing life changing. Also, Anders' use of REAL instruments earns him some credit - can't get enough of the mallet-type sounds he plays in lots of the songs.

Favourite songs:

Take Me Into Your Skin
Always Something Better
While The Cold Winter Is Waiting
Snowflake
Moan
Miss You

Disk 1 is almost a perfect arrangement of songs - IMO "Vamp" and "Chameleon" didn't fit in with the rest of the album, and at over an hour and a quarter, it's sometimes hard to listen to the whole thing from start to finish.

Most of disk 2 didn't do anything for me - the lack of the first CD's melodies turned this collection of his singles boring by comparison - he's even said himself that his heart is really with CD One. However, tracks 1 + 2 are REALLY good, but they're just vocal versions of 2 tracks on the first CD. Also, the Trentemoller remix of Always Something Better [track 7] is pretty nice. Course, this is just a "Bonus Disk" so I'm glad it's included, if only for those 3 songs!

Overall - CD one contains enough fantastic sounds to make up for the fact that CD 2 doesn't really work as an album, making this well worth the [ridiculously] cheap price!

The textures and beauty of this music transports you beyond all emotions and brings you closer to the meaning of life...listen to this album and enjoy the pantomine behind the scenes....

Since signing with Poker Flat Recordings in 2005, Anders Trentemøller has rapidly ascended the ranks of the electronic music world. His unique, unmistakable style - minimal, crunchy beats and beeps - has earned him distinction and recognition from a legion of fans. Finally, he has released The Last Resort, an excellent album that showcases his exceptional musical talent and is certain to gain him even more fans.

The album begins on a strong note with Take Me Into Your Skin, a deep, multi-layered track with a grinding, deep melody. From here, it goes on to Vamp, a groovy track that some find bizarre and uninteresting but I personally love. Next is Evil Dub, which recalls the crunchy, bass-heavy style of many of Trentemøller's singles. Seamlessly, it fades into Always Something Better, a haunting tune that is probably my favorite song on the album.

Once Always Something Better fades out, the album moves back into chillout mode with While The Cold Winter Waiting, a lovely, melodic song that serves as an excellent transition into the more bassy Nightwalker. After this is the brief but epic Like Two Strangers, which pounds its way through to the next track: the heavily-mixed and disorienting The Very Last Resort.

After The Very Last Resort, the album moves into a more upbeat style with Snowflake, Chameleon and Into The Trees (Serenetti Part 3), three bassy and driving tracks. Finally, Trentemøller heads in for a melodic close with Moan and Miss You (the latter of which is probably the most beautiful track on the album).

The Last Resort is a web of gorgeous melodies, beats and patterns that weave together to create an engaging, mind-bending musical experience - easily one of the best albums of 2006. No artist has quite the same blend that Trentemøller seems to effortlessly create with each new release. Undoubtedly, this album will ensure Trentemøller's position as one of the top artists in electronic music.

This is a 2 Disc set that reminds you of Dave Seaman's Back to Mind Disc. It has those sounds to it that relaxes your mind. It also has a breakbeat to it. For people who like bands like Layo & Bushwacka, Pako & Frederik, or progressive house, don't miss out on this!

Overall, this 2CD is good to relax to after a hard day's work!!!