At Least I Spelled Your Name Right!

So, last Tuesday or Wednesday (I can't remember these things.) I picked up Give Up, the Postal Service's album. I can't say I'm a fan of Death Cab (Not to say I dislike them, I just can't get into it. They're honestly not bad.) and hell if I've ever heard of Dntel, but together? It's one of the better albums I've picked up this year.

Well, on par with the only other one, at least. I don't get over to FYE often.

Upon popping the disc into my CD Drive and hitting play, I'm greeted by some seemingly random beeps and whistles. At first I wasn't pleased with 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight's "crescendo" but in retrospect it really does work out for a better sounding album. I'd be much more disappointed if my bounciness was killed mid way through, so getting it out of the way for 'artistic effect' really is a good call. From there, it was all uphill, save for a few snares.

I probably look at an album as a whole more than the average person, and Give Up's biggest bruises come out of track placement. I might be inclined to like "Nothing Better" or "This Place is a Prison" a lot more if they didn't have to come off the two most upbeat songs of the whole group. (Blah blah blah. Yeah, "We Will Become Sillouettes" is about spontaneous combustion, but the tempo, man, the tempo!) The thing is, this isn't some album you can pop in and make lunch to when you're home alone. (A duty The Cloud Room tends to fill all too often.) It's an album you have to listen to. It commands your attention. A rare few crop of music has that effect on me. As an individual breakdown:

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight: Slow to start, but a solid tune to listen to. I'm probably looking to far into this, but the lyric "DC sleeps alone tonight." may or may not have a dual meaning. My first thought was the obvious, "Oh, like District of Columbia. Duh." But after a few more listens, I figured it could also stand for Death Cab, as in, like, Ben Gibbard? The singer? I find it cool. Double meanings are always neat.
Such Great Heights: "Hey, that M&Ms commercial song!" Not the best of the lot, but certainly worth the listen. The guitar bit 2/3 through is quite the sleek one. Decent.
Sleeping In: Catchy, witty lyrics, fun? What more could I ask for? Quite possibly best song on the album.
Nothing Better: Opposite end of the spectrum. See above for my theory on this, but I might just plain not like this song. The duet was interesting, but not a selling point.
Recycled Air: Nice and mellow. I'd maindeck it, but probably not a four-of. Ouch, Magic metaphor. What a nerd I am.
Clark Gable: Just when you think you've got these guys figured out, they whip out hand claps and horns. Refreshing.
We Will Become Sillouettes: With lyrics like "Then our bodies will explode...and it won't be a pretty site." it's pretty hard not to grin at this one. I'd love it if this ended up on the soundtrack for a movie adaptation of Left Behind, since it fits like a glove, but given Left Behind's backround, it'd be caked with whiny Sonicflood and Kurios garbage.
This Place is a Prison: I want to like this song, but I just can't get into it. Doesn't suit me, but give it a second chance.
Brand New Colony: This is the song that originally got me into the band, and even with the competition it holds its own. Feel-good lyrics and stock sound from NES games is a recipe for success.
Natural Anthem: Pretty much undescribable. Not a high point, but centainly not low either. It's like the album's Uncle Fester. You really can't compare it to the others very well.

All in all, it really reminds me of Dresden Codak for some reason. It's just... epic. That's the only word that comes to mind.

Of course, Checkerboard Nightmare always comes to mind when I hear the Talking Heads and Panic! At The Disco gets me thinking about Magic Pengel every time, so don't trust those hunches.

Speaking of Dresden Codak, give that a second look. It's like A Lesson Is Learned, but with punchlines! Amazing, I know!

(When I said less frequent updates, I meant it. No more Eureka Seven one liners, even!)

I miss whore Talhoe.

(There we go!)

[Sandgate]