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The Postmarks

The Postmarks

(Unfiltered; US: 6 Feb 2007; UK: Available as import)

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.

Rating:

Michael Keefe is a freelance music journalist, an independent bookstore publicist, and a singer/guitarist/songwriter in a band. Raised on a record collection of The Beatles, Coltrane, Mozart, and Ravi Shankar, Michael has been a slave to music his whole life. At age 16, he got a drum set and a job at a record store, and he's been playing and peddling music ever since. Today, he lives in Oregon with his wife (also a writer, but not about music), two cats, and a whole lot of instruments and CDs.


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The Postmarks - Goodbye
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15 Jan 2009
A charming, low-key covers album by the Miami band. While not the boldest career move, it showcases the group’s relaxed style and their absolute love of the music they’re covering.
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