The Postal Service - Give Up

You’ve heard some of this even if you don’t recognize the title. It’s a blissful marriage of electropop and indie, a brilliant dichotomy, at times, between the medium, light, upbeat dance-pop and the message, sharp realism, sad acceptance rather than despair. A recognition of one’s own duende, so to speak. There is hope in here as well. “Natural Anthem” approaches that hope, and also rocks harder than the rest of the album. “Nothing Better” is a modernized take on the man/woman dialogue song. Think “Don’t You Want Me” or even farther back, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” even though it’s less on target. “Recycled Air” is a delicious meditation on flying, with some hidden subtext that my body understands but my mind still doesn’t. Is he flying TO something or away from it? He lightens up a bit with “Sleeping In,” following that with probably the best-known track, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” The next track is probably the darkest. “This Place is a Prison.” Next is “We Will Become Silhouettes,” which I swear could have been written by Vonnegut, our laughing prophet of doom, and “Brand New Colony.”

Author: listener | Category: Music Reviews | July 2007