The Postmarks
Memoirs at the End of the World
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Label: Unfiltered Records
The Postmarks have a lot of hurdles to overcome, not just the stigma of being a band from Florida. They must also contend with the inevitable Camera Obscura comparisons, whose My Maudlin Career, released four months prior, steals a bit of The Postmarks' thunder, being another indie pop record that strove for vintage style with horn and string instrumentation -- a pseudo-nostalgic hearken back in indie music heralded by Jenny Lewis and Zooey Deschanel. With Memoirs at the End of the World, The Postmarks take it a step further with faux-antique packaging, replete with fake creases and classic record cover design.
Good thing the cover isn't just a lame façade; where Camera Obscura modeled their newest release after Motown, The Postmarks seems to have taken cues from cinema and a bit of yé-yé French pop (look at the cover and tell me you didn't think it was a Françoise Hardy record), resulting in a pop album with big, sweeping orchestration. The whole affair screams "James Bond," right down to the title. Memoirs at the End of the World may be the best 007 film that never was, with track titles like "Go Jetsetter" and "The Girl From Algenib" that evoke globetrotting spies and exotic seductions. All of this is colored by the opening track/theme song, "No One Said This Would Be Easy," with epic strings that would be at home in any decent James Bond theme. The slow, slinking "Thorn In Your Side" evokes seduction in the rival spy's hotel room, while "Theme from Memoirs," a pseudo-reprise of "No One Said This Would Be Easy" could easily play over the credits as Sean Connery dives out of the burning SPECTRE headquarters and into bed with his leading lady, whom never wonders why the body of her beau has the consistency of carpet.
Much of the success of Memoirs should be credited to Tim Yehezkely (who is, despite her name, most definitely a woman, as I'm sure every other piece written on this band will tell you), whose characteristically indie pop voice provides a seductive experience disguised as gentle innocence -- an identifiable entry point amidst all the sexy kiss kiss-bang bang going on on the album.
And all that sexy kiss kiss-bang bang? It never lets up, even when you'd expect a minimalist acoustic guitar track for the sake of pacing or to wind down at end of the album. This is wonderful, considering the world we live in where a fetching style tends to subside half an hour into a movie or a few tracks into an album in favor of lazy mediocrity. For those who crave cool artifice, Memoirs at the End of the World is a sexy, stylish album that not only provides a valuable lesson in putting together a cohesive record, but also works as a soundtrack for your Ian Fleming novels.
by Danny Djeljosevic
