Review: The Postelles
Live at Lollapalooza
By: Christine Beaderstadt
There’s something disarming about being surrounded by young, eager musicians, and The Postelles have certainly perfected the art of charming. Their playful and witty banter bear a striking resemblance to the band in “That Thing You Do,” before the fictional characters became awestruck by their newfound fame, and one can’t help but like their music more when they bring this animation onto the stage.
It’s not just their faces that are fresh–– these guys are only a few years out of high school, after all–– but their sound is reminiscent of an early Beatles mixed with The Strokes. (Perhaps this is because The Postelles got their first big break after Albert Hammond Jr., guitarist for The Strokes, saw them perform in their hometown of NYC and produced their single, “123 Stop.”)
With their fun-loving and good-natured teasing, it’s difficult to get a straight answer out of these guys; when asked how their music is different from other bands, Billy, the drummer, responds, “Genetics. We have different genetics. And I have great cheekbones. High cheekbones is the main difference between us and other bands.” But David, the more serious member, picks up the slack: “We’re motivated to do [our] best possible,” and John expands, “[We] don’t want to disappoint people. People are coming out to see us and we want to give them the same respect they’re giving us, [which is] the best show possible.”
Despite their superficial goofiness, The Postelles are very serious about what they do; last year, the oldest members, John and David, decided to leave college – Harvard and Boston University, respectively to pursue music with undivided attention. John reflects, “We want to look back in twenty years and say, ‘I’m really happy with that album, every song we did. We put everything we had into [our music].’”
Since officially banding together– pun intended– a little over a year ago, The Postelles hit the ground running, and people have taken notice. With positive reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin, they have toured throughout the US, including this year’s Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza festivals. After already releasing two EPs, The Postelles will officially record their debut album in January 2009. “Our main goal is to create music that we feel is truest to ourselves… As long as we can produce music we intend to… we can be perfectly happy.”
The Postelles Offical Site | The Postelles Myspace | The Postelles LastFM