Dntel is the name of Postal Service co-founder Jimmy Tamborello's solo project, dating back to nearly a decade before The Postal Service's Give Up was released in 2003.

Beginning in 1994 with a series of EPs and singles, Dntel finally released a full-length album, Early Works For Me If It Works For You, in 1998. The album displays a lot of the drum-n-bass aesthetic popular in the late 90s, but shows off enough of Tamborello's experimental chops to foreshadow some of the stronger work to come in 2001's Life is Full of Possibilities.

The Postal Service was my portal into Dntel, which I suspect may be true for a number of folks. If you're a fan of The Postal Service, then you owe it to yourself to take a moment to check out Dntel, and Life is Full of Possibilities is a great starting point. I recommend picking up the 2011 double-disc re-issue, which includes a handful of great remixes and alternate versions, adding to the experimental feel of the album. Ben Gibbard contributes vocals on "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan," providing a little insight into the direction their collaboration would take a few years later. On a recent re-listen, I was struck again by how fresh the album still sounds, a dozen years on -- even though the aesthetic seems far less experimental and much more mainstream, the album still manages to avoid feeling dated.