[.ca] Give Up

From Amazon.co.uk:
In every sense of the word Give Up, the debut album from American Electro beatniks the Postal Service is a remarkable record. Born of a chance meeting between Ben Gibbard, singer of Seattle indie-rockers Death Cab for Cutie and LA resident and Dntel lynch-pin Jimmy Tamborello, and written and recorded by post--hence the name the Postal Service--it's an inspired, if unlikely, marriage of lo-fi innocence and hi-tech beauty. Gibbard's voice is filled with the insecure questioning normally restricted to recently dumped singers in emo bands. Tamborello's clicks, bleeps, analogue murmurs and eerie scraps are the stuff of inaccessible bedroom electronica. Together though, they find a sensual middle ground where stories of jilted lovers and fragile desires softly prick the emotions on a tidal wave of otherworldly synthetic sounds. "The District Sleeps Alone", with its tripping beats, bittersweet computer strings and tragically uplifting hook is melancholy at its most tender. "Sleeping In" is a joyously sunny daydream; a naïve vision of how good the world could be. And everything else falls somewhere between the two--equal parts heartbreak and hope, to form a strange and wonderful dimension where electro-pop has a soul. --Dan Gennoe

Give Up - Something I Would NOT Do to This Music!:
Recently, my older sister has adopted an I-pod Mini and in turn has given me her CD/MP3 player. To put it simply, all my time spent on that player has been on Give Up. Before you raise an eyebrow, I have to say that in NO ONE'S mind ( not even someone who is foreign to electronica or indie ) there is doubt that Tambarello and Gibbard's collaboration has failed whatsoever in Give Up. Each song contains bits of pieces of some everyday noise ( clinking of a cereal bowl in Sleeping In, subway screeches in Natural Anthem ) and layers upon layers of beats, tunes, and uplifting voices. If you listen very closely, you can set apart the hundred layers in one song ( even counted once...past 5 layers at the least ) and even pick up the soft vocals of the women who sang for Give Up, as well ( found in The District Sleeps Alone Tonight's mid-instrumental is a repeating of "hello", or is it "alone?", that disturbs one for a moment ). In conclusion, amazing vocals and addictive beats and lines keeps Give Up in heavy rotation in my second-hand CD player. Only absolute nit-picks will be _slightly_ disappointed ( "iffy" lyrics? I disagree! ). Get it or...um...don't.. and miss out. ^_^

Amazing CD worthe every penny:
When i first bought this CD i was a little concerend, i didnt know what to expect, i heard a couple songs and they were great but i didnt like the fact that there are no insturments. Anyways i bought the CD and LOVED it every single song is good. I have had the cd for a while now and can listen to it over and over i recommend this CD for anyone whos looking for relaxing good music

the singer isn't cool:
the singing is too horribly imperfect, it destroys the otherwise beautiful album. go buy light yourself on fire by stars. It's very similair, but they can sing.

Highly Over-Rated Electro-Pop:
A note to potential buyers: The rave reviews on this site are not warrented... pretty tunes with pretty syths do not make quality music, but manufactured pap for the masses... While there is some quality songwriting and musianship at times, there is a whole lot better out there... Cheers

Excellent album!:
"Give Up" is quite simply a great album. It's a refreshing change from mainstream music, but it's not "too indie" to sound, well, terrible. The electronic beats are almost retro for us 80s kids who grew up on 8-bit video game systems, and to top it off, the music's great too!

• The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
• Such Great Heights
• Sleeping In
• Nothing Better
• Recycled Air
• Clark Gable
• We Will Become Silhouettes
• This Place Is a Prison
• Brand New Colony
• Natural Anthem