The Postal Service is another side-project of Ben Gibbard, from Death Cab for Cutie, not unlike All Time Quarterback. However, as ATQ was simply Gibbard and a four-track, this time, he has Jimmy Tamborello (From Dntel) doing the instruments, leaving Gibbard to simply sing and write lyrics.
I don’t think I’m overstating anything by saying this is one of the best things Gibbard has ever made, if not THE best. Unlike many of the tracks on ATQ, “Give Up” sounds well enough produced to sound good. And unlike the last DCFC album, it sounds different enough to sound impassioned.
The songs are lyrically adolescent, but who doesn’t need that sometimes? There are loads of 14-18 year old indie/emo kids out there who need something to listen to, right? Of course.
And for them (and basically anyone who likes DCFC), this album is incredible. The simple vocal harmony on “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” works so incredibly well as Gibbard croons “D.C. Sleeps Alone Tonight.” The accordion on “This Place is a Prison” works well off of Tamborello’s electronics and the organic drums Gibbard brings. “Sleeping In” tells the tale of laziness, a la Pedro the Lion’s “The Longer I Lay Here” (and Gibbard’s vocals echo PTL’s, as well).
The difference, of course, between PS and DCFC is the electronics. Instead of using traditional instruments, almost all of the music is done by keyboards, and it could work for anyone from Hot Hot Heat fans to fans of fellow sub poppers Iron and Wine. The quasi-Casio beat in “Recycled Air” tells the tale of a plane ride and the fright it brings (along with great “ba ba ba ba-ing” by Gibbard). And the sweet optimism of the real guitar against the Nintendo-music works so well on “Brand New Colony.”
However, as it goes with Gibbard, his voice (along with backup singer Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley) and lyrics play so well off each other. Like John Cusack’s character in “Say Anything,” Gibbard is so Emo, yet so sensitive (as in, he doesn’t scream like the guys from Braid). “Clark Gable” is a tale of a broken-up couple trying to make a movie together, complete with references to emo subjects like riding on trains and old movie stars. You can feel the desperation in Gibbard’s voice as he croons, “ I want so badly to believe that there is truth and love is real.” And he even one-ups “Clark Gable” on “Nothing Better,” a song about unrequited love between another newly-broken-up couple. Gibbard plays the sad, dejected, Elliott-Smith-from-“Say-Yes”-ex-boyfriend, begging for her to “just say how to make it right and I swear I’ll do my best to comply.” And kudos to Jen Wood (from the band Tattletale), playing the ex-girlfriend who defiantly tells him “You’ve got a lure I can’t deny, but you’ve had your chance, now say goodbye.” It’s a snapshot from the relationships of those who can’t let go(he makes bold pronouncements like “someone please call a surgeon who can crack my ribs and repair my broken heart.” And she snaps with back with “you’re getting carried away feeling sorry for yourself.”) It really works, specifically the give and take between them.
It seems, whenever I get tired of emo (or whatever it’s called these days) and their high school-ish tendencies, I get lured back in by Ben Gibbard. Whether it’s the second DCFC album, or “Sent Packing” from the ATQ CD, Gibbard makes life and love sound so bittersweet.
- Ross Gianfortune
