Sunday, September 23, 2007

The Postal Service, Give Up, Sub Pop, 2003

Ben Gibbard is a superhero. He has multiple identities and his super power is the ability to write articulate, striking, metaphor-filled song after articulate, striking, metaphor-filled song without having any of them sound pretentious or wholly the same. He even has an instantly recognizable superhero costume made up of soft-hued sweaters, worn-in blazers and so-nerdy-they’re-cool black plastic glasses.
You, the average music-loving citizen of Metropolis, are familiar with Ben Gibbard because of Death Cab for Cutie and their low-key, mood-setting brand of northwest indie rock, but you may not be as in-the-know when the conversation turns to the Postal Service and their brand of indie-tronic pop music.
After hearing “Such Great Heights” or “We Will Become Silhouettes” (Give Up’s lead singles) a few times, you will find yourself trying to place the singer’s gentle voice and the way his stories of breakup and other such disaster unravel. You soon realize that the Postal Service is Ben Gibbard’s creation. It’s his Clark Kent to Death Cab’s Superman.
Formed in 2001, the Postal Service spent the subsequent year or so before Give Up was released pairing high-tech, sterile electronic beats, courtesy of the band’s second member, Jimmy Tamborello of the electronic group, Dntel, with oddly complementing and completely human lyrics and stories, courtesy of Ben Gibbard himself. Several tracks also feature additional vocals performed warmly by the Wonder Woman of indie pop, Jenny Lewis.
On opener “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” Gibbard describes how an ex seems “so out of context in this gaudy apartment complex” over a series of quick back-and-forth electronic clanks and snaps. The song sets the mood for the entire album: largely gloomy lyrics balanced with optimistic-sounding, synthesized melodies. The album goes by far faster than you’re expecting it to, although the last third chugs along noticeably slower than beginning and middle.
Each song is the proud owner of its very own articulately heartfelt story and a catchy melody made up of electronic whirrs and claps. The standouts include “Such Great Heights,” “We Will Become Silhouettes” and “Nothing Better,” with all its medical metaphors (rhyming “future” with “sutures” just might be the definition of brilliance) and call-and-answer vocals revolving around an undying love.
Give Up has balance. At times its songs seem larger-than-life, with soaring proclamations of “everything looks perfect from far away” or “I want life in every word to the extent that it's absurd” but then, there are those pedestrian and utterly tangible lyrics, too, and often in the same song as the extraordinary. It is this integration of beauty and mundane occurrences that makes Give Up so easy to listen to. Clark Kent obviously knows as much about ordinary life as he does out-of-the-ordinary life.

-February 11th, 2007

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