With all the indignation and corruption in the world, it’s hard to crack a smile sometimes. All the dread seems so overbearing that you begin to wonder where the happiness resides. After listening to The Postal Service’s debut album, Give Up, I now realize it’s all being funneled directly to this joyful duo of indie heartthrob Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and IDM practitioner Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, Figurine). In ten tracks of pop-tacular pop, these two hipsters take your stolen happiness, coat it with IDM glitches and tasty vocals, and double-dip it in colorful tones of yellows and oranges. Or so the music could imply. This giddy treat journals the fragmented songwriting that was slowly created by sending bare tracks back and forth-- through the U.S. Postal Service, no doubt-- until enough counterpoint fudge was present. However, it’s this excess fudge that becomes a bit overbearing. Because of its incessant do-good-feel-good sentimentality, it’s painful to listen to on a daily basis, let alone twice in one week. But sweet shortcomings aside, the album fairs pretty well, especially with the two somber songs on the album, “This Place Is a Prison” and “Natural Anthem,” both of which act as the milk that neutralizes its hotel of candy-cane songwriting. Although, it’s not nearly as strong as Dntel’s brilliant Life Is Full of Possibilities or the lo-fi charm of Death Cab’s We Have the Facts, it still gets my stamp of approval ‘cause these boys deliver! High-five! 1. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
2. Such Great Heights
3. Sleeping In
4. Nothing Better
5. Recycled Air
6. Clark Gable
7. We Will Become Silhouettes
8. This Place Is a Prison
9. Brand New Colony
10. Natural Anthem
More about: The Postal Service
