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Photo by Autumn de Wilde
Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie bring anniversary tour to Orlando this week
Notable not only for their leftfield moniker — one that got them served a special delivery cease-and-desist from the actual U.S. Postal Service — but also for a minimal discography of just one essential album, the Postal Service has created a legacy for themselves in the world of electronic pop.
Give Up, the band’s first and only full-length, propelled producer Jimmy Tamborello and vocalists Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis from the realm of cult heroes to chart-toppers. From its release in 2003 to achieving platinum status in 2012, the vast, continuous reach of Give Upis a rare and welcome anomaly in the fast-forward world of pop.
In a co-headlining run with Gibbard’s otherproject, indie-rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the Postal Service is back on the road for a tour celebrating Give Up’s 20th anniversary — alongside the 20th anniversary of Death Cab’s Transatlanticism. As much as it is the bands celebrating, it’s also a celebration among the fans who continue to find themselves within both these albums, decades after their release.
“I've always felt like you have to follow music because it's your passion and not try to make it into a job, and then see what happens,” Tamborello shared in a phone interview with Orlando Weekly.
Give Up, which will be performed in order in its entirety every night on this anniversary tour, is a testament to just how strong of a legacy the Postal Service created over the years.
Tamborello reflected on the popularity of hit song “Such Great Heights,” and the strange feeling of playing their most-recognized song second to honor the album’s tracklist order.
“It's weird, like [Give Up] really feels like one whole thing to me. I don't know if any certain point of it sticks out a lot. I think ‘Brand New Colony’ is a fun one to play live. It feels like it has such a hopeful ending and we get the crowd to sing along with us near the end of the set. So that's a high point emotionally for me,” Tamborello says.
When Tamborello first collaborated with Gibbard, he had no idea that things would quickly snowball into their forming a band together. He at first just wanted to feature Gibbard on a song for his solo project DNTEL. But after a weekend of hanging out and recording music together, the two knew they had something special on their hands.
“We just hit it off and enjoyed working together and started talking about making more songs. And then it quickly grew from 'maybe we should make another song or two' to 'let's do a whole album,’” Tamborello says.
When asked if he could have ever foreseen the twists and turns of his career over the past two decades, Tamborello says he felt his tastes growing up were “too weird” to find success in the industry.
“My dad played instruments and had a little home-studio setup, so me and my friends realized we could pretend to be in a band and make music, so that was my after-school hobby in junior high and high school,” Tamborello says. “I stuck with it ever since then. But I never felt very secure in my skills, it was more really just something that I enjoyed doing. … It just is still crazy to me that worked out how it did.”
Before the first leg of their 20th anniversary tour in fall of 2023, the Postal Service were last seen on stage in 2013 — which many believed to be the last they’d see of the group performing live together.
“I don't do a lot of touring on my own, for my own projects. So I really haven't been on tour since we did the 10-year anniversary in 2013. I had a lot of anxiety about it before we did the first leg, but it came back pretty quick how to deal with being on the road. So I'm looking forward to doing it again,” Tamborello says.
“I barely ever have been in Florida at all. On the first Postal Service tour in 2003, we played Orlando, but that's the last time I was there. We didn't even make it out there at the 10-year anniversary,” he adds.
Upon its release in 2003, Give Uptopped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and to this day, its influence runs strong in the world of electronic music. The album helped bridge the gap between electronic beats and indie rock, seamlessly blending genres and creating endless new possibilities for sonic explorers past, present and future.
Tamborello is gratified to see this response up close and personal nightly.
“It's been really fun. The crowds have been really nice. Yes, it's been a really good experience in every way. And we're excited that we're doing more,” Tamborello says. “I mean, I think if it hadn't gone so well, I don't think we'd've even made it to the second leg.”
6 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, Kia Center.
Event Details
The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Slow Pulp
Wed., April 24, 6 p.m.
Kia Center 400 W. Church St., Orlando Downtown
$45.50-$95.50
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