[02.03] The Postal Service is a side project from Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello. The collaboration between the two consisted of Tamborello sending rough mixes of songs through the mail to Gibbard in Seattle (hence the name?). Gibbard, in turn, sent them back with vocal tracks. The final product is a collection of '80s synth-pop influenced tracks, entitled Give Up, which is almost, but not quite, unlike anything that I've heard in recent days. What I mean is, while the '80s revival has been popular for years now, not many bands have done it quite like this.

Most bands, such as Satisfact, the Calculators, and the Faint, took elements from their '80s influences and sort of made them sound cooler. In fact, in the case of the Faint, the '80s have never sounded quite so cool. The Postal Service, on the other hand, have put together songs that are as bubbly and electronically poppy as anything I've ever heard from that time period. While recent bands seem to draw upon the early Cars, the Cure or Peter Murphy sounds, Gibbard and Tamborello seem unashamed to show their affinity for the Human League or the Pet Shop Boys.

After listening to the album, the first thing that came to mind was this: "This is cheesy." The next thing: "This is catchy." Finally: "I really like this stuff, but do I admit to it? Hmmm." After some pondering, and much more rounds of listening, I decided that since I really like Death Cab For Cutie and love '80s synth pop, the music on this album really strikes a chord with me. And, yes, I thoroughly enjoy The Postal Service every time it is played. Somehow, the blending of cheap sounding electronics and Gibbard's low-key indie rock vocals seem to work quite well together.

Among the tracks is a song that begins with a drum 'n bass sound that seems to go on for far too long. By the time the vocals finally started my attention was already gone. However, other songs such as "Such Great Heights,""Sleeping In," and "Nothing Better" are so sugary and fun that I can't help but bust into some sort of Breakfast Club-inspired frenzy full of jerks and convulsions that I like to call dancing. The lyrics are a bit simplistic and a little too cute, but so what. Gibbard sings with emotion and on some tracks, his voice is complemented by the lovely female vocals of Jen Wood and Rilo Kelly's frontwoman Jenny Lewis.

After all is said and done, I must issue a warning to those of you who still see their Human League, Flock of Seagulls, O.M.D., etc. listening days as a terrible error in judgment. This music might just bring back some bad memories of a time when the idea of good taste seems to have been very subjective. However, if you are anything like me, you can't get enough of the dancey synth-pop cheese and therefore will love this album. I, for one, am hoping that other bands will take the Postal Service's cue and realize that its OK to make geeky retro pop music. —Matthew