Collections 01

Mtendere Mandowa takes on the “less is more” ethos with his second album released under the Teebs moniker. Where his 2010 debut, *Ardour*, boasted 18 tracks of near-bliss, 2011’s *Collections 01* offers 10 tracks playing totaling just less than 30 minutes. A lonesome tambourine ushers in the opening “Just the Yellow Bits”—a gauzy, keyboard-painted piece punctuated with organic percussion and sublime bass that all come together to remind us that Mandowa was a visual artist before releasing music. “Cook, Clean, Pay the Rent (New House Version)” is a brighter work that blends in cocktail-friendly lounge moods over what sounds like samples of androgynous moaning. “Pretty Polly” is a grayer, rainy-day number that strips it all down to demure female vocals cooing over scratchy looped beats that approximate a heartbeat. At four minutes and 24 seconds, “Verbena Tea with Rebekah Raff” is the album\'s longest composition. Painting soundscapes with a contrast of harp strings and droning synthesizers, it’s also the most arresting and innovative song here.

L.A.-based artist Mtendere Mandowa always stood out from the Brainfeeder pack of weirdo producers. Following his over-long 2010 debut, this "mini album" of effortlessly gorgeous hip-hop ruminations offers a surprisingly cohesive statement.