The Postal Service: Give Up

Ben Gibbard can write lyrics that would make even the most ardent metalhead melt. There is a nostalgia he manages to invoke that is remarkably unique. His normal gig, penning/singing songs for Death Cab for Cutie, allows him his indie rock outlet, but this collaboration with Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel gives him that electronica cred that all indie dudes crave. Okay, maybe not crave, but… While this is certainly a collaboration, all the bleeps and bloops can’t cover up the fact that this is very much a Gibbard-sounding album–if he was dropping new wave albums in 1986. They keep the album nice and poppy, without spinning off into that esoteric electronic noodling and repetitive looping crap I hate so much about electronica music. Yup, it’s good.