The Postal Service

The Postal Service is an indie electro-pop band, which started life as a side project for singer Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Headset and Figurine. Several songs on their first LP, Give Up, feature guest vocals from Jenny Lewis, the lead singer of Rilo Kiley, a band which was once on the same label as Death Cab (Barsuk Records) and vocals from Jen Wood, an indie rock solo artist. Chris Walla recorded some of the songs and played the piano on Nothing Better.

The way in which the group combines electronic backing tracks with poppy hooks is somewhat reminiscent of 1980s new wave music. The group formed, in 2001, after Gibbard contributed vocals for a song on Dntel's album Life Is Full of Possibilities called (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan. This song sparked an EP of remixes by other artists, such as Lali Puna, The Flaming Lips, Safety Scissors, Barbara Morgenstern and Superpitcher and was so well received that the two artists decid...