The Postmarks: The Postmarks

This wistful, indie chamber pop trio from Miami have been getting a good deal of early buzz. While my aim is not entirely to argue against this love fest, maybe the initial burst of excitement over the Postmarks’ self-titled debut could use some tempering. Yes, the band have a lot going for them. Their singer is likely the prettiest girl ever named Tim. Ms. Yehezkely is joined by multi-instrumentalists Jon Wilkins and Christopher Moll, plus a dozen or so guest musicians on horns, strings, harpsichord, vibes, keys, guitar, and, as required of any group mentioning Brian Wilson in their press kit, theremin. The tasteful arrangements of these many textures are quite pretty and restrained. Produced by Ivy’s Andy Chase (another boy-girl-boy threesome), The Postmarks has a nice, polished sound. Compared with Chase’s band, however, these new kids don’t offer much in the way of sonic variety. Probably, this is by design, though. The record seems to have been conceived of as a mood piece. And Tim’s breathy singing supports this ambience. A chanteuse in the French pop style, her vocals are likeable enough in small doses, but her dynamic range is roughly zero. This gets wearying over the course of an entire album. While a few of the songs — opener and first single “Goodbye”, the breezy “Weather the Weather”, and the floating “Looks Like Rain” — are terrific, a few too many others are merely pleasant. The Postmarks have crafted a lovely little album well suited to gazing out of rainy day windows. But this CD won’t break your reverie often enough to prove wholly memorable.