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Apr 10, 2013 Issue #45 - Winter 2013 - Phoenix By Sam Cleeve

It’s been 10 years since The Postal Service’s seminal Give Up was released into the world. To say it found a wider audience than its creators expected is an immense understatement—Give Up demolished all sales projections, trickling into the hearts of minds of millions of bedroom-bound brooders across the world. Ten years, a well-publicized legal dispute with the U.S. Postal Service, and over a million copies sold later, and Sub Pop have awarded Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello’s widely adored album its somewhat inevitable anniversary reissue treatment.

It goes without saying that this collection’s biggest draw lies in its two previously unreleased tracks—“Turn Around” and “A Tattered Line of String.” The former is full of optimism and encouragement, a promise of better days to a dejected partner—“you got to know that this will turn around/until then I will not let you down,” sings Gibbard, a heavy-set bass helping put a spring in his step. The latter’s tale of a doomed relationship, meanwhile, sets Tamborello’s electronics against Gibbard’s guitar in equal measure. Beyond this, the 25-track reissue comprises B-sides, remixes, and covers that have previously all seen the light of day. “Be Still My Heart” is a love song for the Internet age if ever there was one, while “There’s Never Enough Time” carries itself with a more somber lilt. The duo’s takes on The Flaming Lips’ “Suddenly Everything Has Changed” and Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now)” are also included.

The Postal Service’s Give Up brought romance and sentience to electronic music, introducing life and warmth to cold ones and zeros. As a consequence, it seems to have defied its aging process, and Give Up will likely endure just as well through the next decade as it has the last. (www.postalservicemusic.net)

Author rating: 9/10