The Postal Service- Give Up

20th anniversary LP repress. You can spend all the time and money in the world trying to craft the perfect pop-music scenario, but sometimes the stars have to align all by themselves. Even though early on the members of The Postal Service jokingly referred to "Such Great Heights" as "the hit" on their debut album, Give Up, there's no way anyone could have predicted the eventual impact made by a mail-order album designed in a pair of West Coast bedrooms. Of course, the band's music was more than just electro-pop, and the force with which Jimmy and Ben captured the indie-rock zeitgeist of the early aughts made them more of a phenomenon than just a regular old band. That such artists as Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Streetlight Manifesto, and Confide have covered "Such Great Heights" is a testament to both the song's magical spark and its melodic inclusivity. The band's sound is such a touchstone that "Postal Service-esque" has become a generally accepted musical adjective. And it goes way beyond Owl City. While it was impossible to anticipate how massive Give Up would become, it was obvious in 2003 that these guys had made something special. Twenty years on it's amazing to know that so many people have come to agree.