Coming off their work on
Dntel's beautiful
This Is the Dream of Evan and Chan,
{|Jimmy Tamborello|} and
{|Death Cab for Cutie|}'s
{|Ben Gibbard|} team up again for their full-length debut as
{|Postal Service|},
{|Give Up|}. Instead of covering that EP's territory again, with this album the duo crafts a poppier,
{|new wave|}-inflected sound that recalls
{|Tamborello|}'s work with
{|Figurine|} more than
{|Dntel|}'s lovely subtlety. However,
{|Ben Gibbard|}'s famously bittersweet vocals and sharp, sensitive lyrics imbue
{|Give Up|} with more emotional heft than you might expect from a
{|synth pop|} album, especially one by a side project from musicians as busy as
{|Tamborello|} and
{|Gibbard|} are. The album exploits the contrast between the cool, clean synths and
{|Gibbard|}'s all-too-human voice to poignant and playful effect, particularly on
{|Give Up|}'s first two tracks.
{|"The District Sleeps Alone"|} bears
{|Gibbard|}'s trademark songwriting, augmented by glitchy electronics and sliced-and-diced strings, while
{|"Such Great Heights"|}' pretty
{|pop|} could easily appear on a
{|Death Cab for Cutie|} album, minus a synth or two. Despite some nods to more contemporary electronic
{|pop|},
{|Give Up|}'s sound is based in classic
{|new wave|} and
{|synth pop|}, at times resembling an
{|indie|} version of
{|New Order|} or
{|the Pet Shop Boys|}. Songs like
{|"Nothing Better,"|} a duet that plays like an update on
{|Human League|}'s
{|"Don't You Want Me?,"|} and the video-game brightness of
{|"Brand New Colony"|} sound overtly like the '80s brought into the present, but the tinny, preset synth and drum sounds on the entire album recall that decade. Sometimes, as on
{|"Recycled Air"|} and
{|"We Will Become Silhouettes,"|} the retro sounds become distracting, but for the most part they add to the album's playful charm. The spooky
{|ballad|} {|"This Place Is a Prison"|} is perhaps the most modern-sounding track and the closest in sound and spirit to
{|Gibbard|} and
{|Tamborello|}'s
{|Dntel|} work. The crunchy, distorted beats and sparkling synths recall both
{|This Is the Dream of Evan and Chan|} and
{|Bjoerk|}'s recent work; indeed, this song, along with the
{|"All Is Full of Love"|} cover
{|Death Cab|} included on their
{|Stability|} EP, could be seen as an ongoing tribute to her. Overall,
{|Give Up|} is a fun diversion for
{|Tamborello|},
{|Gibbard|}, and their fans. It doesn't scale the heights of either of their main projects, but it's far more consistent and enjoyable than might be expected. ~ Heather Phares
