The Postmarks – By-The-Numbers Review
A fan of yé-yé and bossa nova, France Gall and Astrud Gilberto, my ears perked up when I heard about The Postmarks. You’d never guess this was a band based in South Florida. By-The-Numbers, their second effort and an unconventional collection of covers, is carried by the charisma of Tim Yehezkely’s breathy vocals and laissez-faire approach. It is her soft-textured voice that flies idiosyncratic choices such as Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and The Cure’s “Six Different Ways” to new heights. Is an album of covers the equivalent of fan fiction? An attempt to attract fans of the original artists? Or a chance for a band to reinterpret songs that have influenced and inspired them over the years?
Whatever the motivation, when taking a crack at an album of covers there is a thin line between genius and banal repetition. Somehow The Postmarks have been careful to craft versions that romanticize yet surpass the memory of the originals.
The tracks on the album count upward from one to twelve, beginning with “One Note Samba” and ending up at “Pinball Number Count” (yes, from Sesame Street). Beyond that, The Postmarks do not paint by-the-numbers or colour within the lines. The arrangements are lush and considered; the production reminiscent of a quiet Sunday morning.
From the synth-heavy “OX4” to the Phil Spector-ish “7-11”, instrumentalists Christopher Moll and Jonathan Wilkins often stray very far from the originals, leaving them almost unrecognizable – “Five Years” probably comes the closest to its original incarnation. Unfortunately, there are times when the album feels like the score of some unmade film, with several tracks blending together in a haze of breath and echo, and not nearly enough variety or spontanaeity. “Nine Million Rainy Days” (The Jesus and Mary Chain) is a standout, well-served by Yehezkely’s flat delivery. Blondie’s “11:59” and The Ventures’ “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” cut through this haze and shake By-The-Numbers into a sunnier mood, but their position on the album makes them easy to miss if you’ve dozed off midway. A lullaby tempo can do that to even the most intent listener.
As Christopher Moll has said, The Postmarks “aim to produce songs that sound like they’ve always existed and always will exist”. Looks like they have hit their mark.
MP3:
The Postmarks – 11:59
The Postmarks – One Note Samba
Tags: album
