Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake

James Figurine

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2006)
• Original Release Date: July 11, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Plug Research
• ASIN: B000FOPPOC
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,117 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist
In November of 2001, my band Figurine went on a short tour of Germany with Lali Puna. Our label there, Monika, set us up with a driver to get from show to show. She only brought three or four tapes to listen to on the drives, mostly techno. I'd never paid much attention to dance-floor oriented electronic music, but listening to the same tapes over and over again (especially Kompakt's pop-leaning Total 3 and some 7" vinyl on Parfum) while driving through Germany made a giant impression on me.

So this record was supposed to be an extra melodic, minimal techno record with some sparse vocals. Instead, my technopop tendencies got the best of me, the songs slowly filled up, and this is what I ended up with. It's called Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake, because that's what I kept chanting to the beat while I worked on the tracks.

John Tejada (Palette Recordings, Plug Research) assisted me along the way, adding sounds to some of the songs, helping write and arrange a few, and then mixing everything in the end. Sonya Westcott (Arthur and Yu) sang with me on "55566688833." Morgan Nagler (Whispertown 2000) contributed some lyrics and vocals to "Pretend It's A Race And I'm On Your Side." Erlend Oye (Kings of Convenience, Whitest Boy Alive) sang some words written by designer/animator/poet Geoff McFetridge on "All The Way To China." Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley, Postal Service) sang with me on "You Again."

I think that's all you need to know before you listen to the record, hope you like it!

With Love, James Figurine

Product Description
James Figurine is the new project by Jimmy Tamborello of the Postal Service, Dntel and Figurine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Listen to this Late at Night (or Any Other Time), June 22, 2008

By	Maggie Mae (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

James Figurine is the Postal Service's Jimmy Tamborello solo album. I, being a fan of the alternative/indie music scene, remember back in 2003 when he teamed up with another favorite Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie recording "Give Up". It was a nice sounding electronic/indie record of sad and deep songs that ended up selling a lot of records.

Now with this album Jimmy Tamborello uses the alias James Figurine (I'm not sure why or how he came up with it). The album feature materials that is slightly different from his stuff with The Postal Service. He uses a different vocal style by slowly whispering the lyrics and his thoughts making it interesting. He even has friend and fellow musician Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley on the song "You Again". This is a great album to put on late at night when you return from clubbin' to fall asleep with.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dntel meets The Postal Service, July 29, 2006

By	Cale E. Reneau "audiooverflow.com" (Conroe, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It seems as if Jimmy Tamborello just can't make up his mind. On some days he's glitching his way through elaborate musical compositions under the name Dntel, while on other's he's one third of the electro-pop trio "Figuring" or one half of "The Postal Service" (and let's not forget his days in "Strictly Ballroom"). Yes, if there's one man who has toured the far reaches of the electronic indie universe, it is undoubtedly Jimmy Tamborello.

Tamborello's latest album comes to us under the name of "James Figurine."

"Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake" gives those uf us who are Dntel fans, a little bit to be excited about. In many ways this album can be viewed as a Postal Service/Dntel hybrid, featuring many of the same qualities as a Dntel album, yet also boasts some incredibly catchy Postal Service-ish hooks. "55566688833" ("love" in text messaging language), for example, contains a pretty catchy hook that has been stuck in my head for days now, while "Ruining the Sundays" and many others on the album sound like songs right out of a Dntel handbook.

Though "minimalist techno" would be the best way to describe this album, it is much more complex than that. Featuring elements of pop, electonica, techno, and experimental electro, the album really delivers, even if it comes off as a bit unfocused at times.

Recommended for fans of Dntel, Figurine, The Postal Service, and Magnetic Fields or anyone who feels like exploring how far electronic music can go.

Key Tracks:
1. "55566688833"
2. "Left Overs"
3. "You Again"
4. "One More Regret"
5. "All the Way to China"


3 out of 5 Stars

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please enter a title for your review, July 18, 2006

By	pancake_repairman "pancake_repairman" (gfjdhgfjhgj) - See all my reviews

I luv Figurine's The Heartfelt, and after a couple albums where Tamborello seemed to be expanding his sonic palette and refining his pop songwriting (DNTEL's Life Is Full Of Possibilities, The Postal Service's Give Up), while in my estimation having his talent diluted by inferior collaborators, I assumed this album would be where it would all come together, the masterpiece he'd been training for. Wow, I was so wrong. I guess the other members of Figurine contributed more than I thought to The Heartfelt, and I guess Gibbard made some musical contribution to The Postal Service, because James on his own seems to be producing much less developed ideas. The more I listen to it the worse it gets. Most of the tracks are not only lacking in melodic pop appeal but not unique, original, creative, or progressive in any way. Just why? At this point I'd be much more interested to hear what the other members of Figurine are doing.