Album Review: The Postal Service - Give Up (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Such was the impact that Give Up had on listeners when it was first released in 2003, it came to represent much more than just an auditory experience; its combination of Jimmy Tamborello's blippy beats and Ben Gibbard's uniquely emotive voice resulted in an album that was moving in parts and compelling throughout. The only full-length album from The Postal Service, it has occupied a place of complete reverence for a decade and now, and coinciding with the outfit's recent return to the live scene, it has been unleashed again with a hefty bonus disc. But how does the original record stack up after so much time has passed?

In short: very well. Fantastic tracks like The District Sleeps Alone Tonight and Clark Gable remain as solid as ever, and considering the production isn't really at the cutting edge of precision its overall feel and sound hasn't dated. Of the bonus disc, two previously unreleased tracks, namely Turn Around and A Tattered Line Of String, have hooks in good measure but fail to match anything on Give Up. The act's attempt at Phil Collins' Against All Odds labours, save for a mid-song breakdown that should've been the blueprint for the entire track, while covers by The Shins and Iron & Wine successfully showcase not only those acts' ability to reinvent, but also the inherent quality of The Postal Service's songwriting. Ultimately, though, these additional songs serve only to gild the lily; Give Up defined a period so powerfully that the original album will forever transcend the songs that comprise it, and Gibbard and Tamborello were wise not to try and better it.