GIVE UP is the only album released by pop supergroup The Postal Service, released 2003. But is it good?
So this is the last opportunity I get this year to gush about an album I already love, and I definitely had a good few choices. But in the end, I think it had to be GIVE UP. The postal service and give up present themselves as such a complete package that making a longform review-essay about them just made total sense. So, some background first.
The Postal Service, at it's core, is made up of Ben Gibbard (frontman of indie darlings Death Cab For Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (Of the electronic project Dntel) and initially met when Gibbard was lending vocals to a track on the first Dntel Record (my review of which you can read here), and having enjoyed working together so much on that track they started working on more songs together, by sending drafts back and forward in the post, and hence, in 2003, Give Up was released.
The record initially wasn't a massive success, but as the band toured (with Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley joining in to make up the trio) word spread about the record, and their popularity only increased from there; which culminated in 2013's massive reunion tour and their 1 millionth record sold. But what does it sound like?
So the record opens with these somber organ tones before being joined by Ben's vocals and some IDM- type beats before the chorus comes in with these gorgeous backing vocals. The track only builds from there and has this beautiful melancholy before Ben admits "I am finally seeing why I was the one worth leaving". The instrumental layering with these old timey string sections and electronic elements make it an incredibly strong opener.
Second track SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS is the obvious single from the record. It has one of Gibbard's most instantly memorable vocal performances, tight beat and honed production that just makes it an instant classic. They even manage to find room for a guitar middle 8 towards the latter half of the track. It's a song that exists so within it's own sonic realm, but still feels totally human too.
SLEEPING IN begins the record proper, with the track opening with lyrics about the assassination of JFK, that quickly evolves into something else entirely. The track has these soft acoustic guitars towards the end too, it's just a track that's really easy to just get absolutely lost it. It manages to be polished and squeaky clean yet still human and relatable, another great track.
NOTHING BETTER is one of the best tracks on the album. It's a song largely about letting go- the lyrics are instantly evocative from "can someone please call a surgeon- who can crack my ribs and repair this broken heart". It also features Jenny's first full vocal performance, with these incredible fluttering and vibrant string sections lifting her voice up before her and Ben sing this back and forth duet. The live version of this is great too- Ben and Jenny both really get into character on stage and get into the theatrics of it. Easily one of the best tracks on the album.
RECYCLED AIR has some of the best production on the record. It's almost like this space age lullaby with Ben's subdued vocals, these lush backing vocals and stellar synthesiser work. It's guitar solo toward the end ties up the track nicely too. CLARK GABLE is another standout track, it's got one of my favourite sets of lyrics on the whole album, and was probably the track initially that cemented the record as something really special in my head. The chorus is framed by these bombastic horns, the verses have these ghostly call and response melodies, the track just has this fantastic sense of movement and verticality to it. Gibbard's live drumming towards the back half of the track gives the track a great energy too. Great song.
WE WILL BECOME SILHOUETTES is a track that's oddly relevant in 2020, with it's lyrics about having cupboards with cans of foods, walking thru empty streets and deadly viruses outside. This is another track that really pops off live, but is still great on the record. THIS PLACE IS A PRISON sort of comes across as the darker and depressed counterpart, with it's grungy beat and melancholy xylophone parts, and Ben's vocals that sound like he's singing right in your ear. This track also has another fantastic round of live drums, but this time they're snappy and tight, pounding against the rest of the production.
BRAND NEW COLONY sounds a last attempt at optimism. Ben's singing about everything he could do and everything he could be for this girl, comparing himself to a winter coat and a phonograph playing back her favourite albums. The second half describes this utopian society with the sun warming the ground, giving themselves new names, and the track eventually ends on the mantra "everything will change". The track has this unbridled optimism that's really comforting, until the final track starts:
Natural anthem is what really elevates this record to GOAT status for me. It does away with the largely optimistic pop attitude that most of the record has to deliver this crushing and noisey IDM piece that pretty much requires headphone listening to get the full apocalyptic feel. It just feels like the whole world is crumbling down around you, it's genuinely overwhelming and humbling in just it's sheer size. Ben's 8 line poem ends on this sense of release before the record just implodes and ends. To say it's an emotional tour de force would be an understatement, the song's grandeur and ambition are just a perfect way to end this record.
I think what makes the album really special to me is viewing the record- and the band- as a complete parcel. I think the record exists it charts the emotional journey of a breakup, with the opener's line "the district sleeps alone tonight" casting the narrator's emotion's across his whole district, the duet in NOTHING BETTER being this idealised and warped version of an explanation from the ex lover about why they broke up; SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS reminiscing about the good times had in a relationship and BRAND NEW COLONY being this last ditch effort before NATURAL ANTHEM's crushing realisation, and thusly termination of the album- the narrator literally gives up, and thusly the album ends. Obviously it's hard to confirm or deny, unless you go picking around Ben Gibbard's head, but this album has been really special to me for a while now, and it's just a great record overall. I can't think of many people I wouldn't recommend this to.
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