The Postal Service is a collaborative effort/side project between Ben Gibbard, the driving force behind Death Cab for Cutie, and Jimmy Tamborello, aka Dntel. The two first worked together on the Dntel single "(This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan" (Life Is Full Of Possibilities, 2001). Gibbard and Tamborello had never met before the recording of "Evan and Chan", and both were pleased with how well the two of them worked together.
After securing a record deal from Sub Pop Records, Tamborello began sending CD-Rs from his home in Los Angeles to Gibbard in Seattle. Gibbard manipulated the "beatsy" electronic backing tracks in his own computer, wrote lyrics, and added melody lines and other instrumentation—much of which was provided by his DCFC bandmate Chris Walla. These were then sent back to Tamborello, who approved Gibbard's changes, made more of his own, and sent them back. Ten months of mailing back-and-forth followed, with the final result being the ten-track album Give Up.
So what's it like? Tamborello and Gibbard mix the sublime blips familiar to Dntel listeners with the aching passion of Death Cab for Cutie, and add the magic of their own personal chemistry to create a blend of techno, emo, 80's new wave, and modern rock. Call it "emotronica" if you like, call it derivative if you're moved to, but the addictive properties of The Postal Service cannot be denied.
Discography (as of 4 May 2003):
Source: Sub Pop Records (http://www.subpop.com/bands/postalservice/), Amazon.com
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