Postal Service, The ‎– Give Up

Perhaps its just me but the electronic underpinning with its breakbeat rhythms seems completely at odds with the lyrics and voice. You would almost think the music and lyrics were written completely separately by different people. Oh hang on, they were!

It's no surprise that the Postal Service's GIVE UP was a hit with the indie kids: Benjamin Gibbard's voice have that emo tinge that people love, and Jimmy Tamborello's electronics aren't as challenging as with his Dntel project. The melodically upbeat "The District Sleeps Tonight" and "Such Great Heights" disguise slightly depressing lyrics. "Sleeping In" is much more gentle, like an uneasy dream, and the male and female call-and-response of "Nothing Better" add texture. But there's no denying that this is more a pop album than anything else: the dance rhythms, the accessible lyrics all point this way. "This Place is a Prison" introduces some more IDM-oriented sounds, while the final track, the mostly instrumental "Natural Anthem" takes up some faster breaks. A solid collaboration -- I'm interested to see how they develop in the future.

This album was a pretty big commercial hit. I can't cite the exact numbers or anything, but I'm pretty certain that this record sold over 500,000 copies in its first year or two, maybe more. It was #1 on the Billboard independent chart for quite some time. But at the time of posting this comment, those numbers aren't really represented in the Discogs stats, as only 135 users own this. In fact, the vast majority of people who own this record probably have never heard of Discogs.

Something unique happened with this record. It got big (at least where I am in the US) right around the beginning of my sophomore year in college. Virtually every other person in the college demographic had this album in their iTunes playlist (that was just about a year ago -- I wonder if they still do? I haven't checked). So why is this unique? Well, for one thing, I doubt many of those iTunes copies were purchased. Despite the impressive sales numbers, I would say that a vastly larger number of copies was illegally downloaded.

Now this raises an interesting question. Could this record have sold so many copies *without* filesharing? As far as I can tell, this album really did come about in a small-time fashion. Assuming what the band says is true, this record wasn't even produced in a studio -- it was just sample-swapping and production on one guy's Mac. Jimmy Tamborello's previous successes were very much on the underground scale (Dntel - Life Is Full of Possibilities, maybe some Figurine stuff). Yes, Sub Pop is no tiny label, and they apparently have wide distribution. And granted, much of this album's success in the mainstream probably has to do with Ben Gibbard's fronting it, since he's pretty well-known in the pop "indie" crowd.

Still, I speculate that word of this album really got out *through* filesharing. Most casual record buyers would never have taken a chance on a record like this without hearing it first. But all the commercial vehicles that make hits were nowhere to be found. Internet filesharing was the means of promotion that got people hooked on the catchy riffs of this record. Whether someone's copy was stolen or bought, they played it, around friends, at parties; people heard it, people wanted it. Many of the people who got into this music bought it, while many more probably downloaded it. But how many people would have bought it if *nobody* downloaded it? I wonder.

By my genre sensibilities, I say this is a synth pop album. Looking back at the 80's, it's clear that synth pop is capable of big commercial success in the US. But this record is still pretty unique in sound, and at least where I'm from, "electronic" music doesn't sell too well in big numbers (besides maybe pop trance or major label crossover stuff). Before Postal service at least, Tamborello was mostly an IDM producer (albeit with a pop indie background), and some very interesting production crept its way into this record. And it got totally out there for everyone to hear.

While I can't deny that I like this record (it's damn catchy and fun), I have somewhat mixed feelings. Occaisionally it sounds empty to me, and I look for something else. But you really have to respect what was done, on some level, even if you hate the music outright. I don't think this is a case of "the masses" falling for another by-the-numbers pop record trick. It's well-crafted, fresh pop, quite electronic, not recycled in the least, made accessible. I'm not sure how this album will stand up 10 years from now, but it's an interesting side-note in looking at electronic music vs. mainstream record sales.

The Postal Service makes some beautiful bittersweet music. This debut CD caught on fire here in the US, spreading by word of mouth and also by radio play, with the single "Such Great Heights" capturing the attention of the alternative rock radio crowd. So what is the music like? Take emo and add some electronic components to it, and make it...not so emo, and you get this. Ben Gibbards awesomely smooth voice helps to lend some feeling to the music. It's hard to describe, but it's really quite good.

Some tracks I recommend:

"The District Sleeps Tonight" is a good start to the album. It really presents the style of the album very well.
"Such Great Heights" is the track that started it all. This has been getting airplay all over the US. There are some electronic elements in here, but not so overwhelming as some of the others.
"Sleeping In" is not a bad track, but I don't like the lyrics or the vocals in this one. The beats are quite good, however.
"Nothing Better" is a very, very good track. In some ways, I bought this album because I was struck by how good this song is. Very bittersweet. Tells such a story with its vocal interchanges. The electronic sound may be overwhelming to some at first listen, but try to listen past that, because this is truly, truly a wonderful track.
(The next three are somewhat filler tracks in my opinion. I tend to skip over them.)
"This Place Is A Prison" is a slow, depressed track. Very good use of melody.
"Brand New Colony" is, in my opinion, the song that should have been made into a single to garner attention for The Postal Service. Very beautiful melodies. This is definitely a great track.

This is one of the best synth-pop albums in recent times. I suggest this for people who like pop as perhaps a way to venture into more electronic music. However, this album is awesome in its own right.