In a world that progressively turns itself upside down and back again, thriving within chaos becomes a necessity. With that in mind, Lebanese dream-pop trio, Postcards have placed themselves in the middle of the ring, trying to understand what’s going on. Across its eleven songs, their sophomore album, The Good Soldier, acknowledges our current status quo of disaster and threads it with the duality of both retreating and fighting back, with layers of rich shoegaze, warmth, density and ghostly memories.
With Postcards touring Europe in support their new release, we invited Julia, Marwan and Pascal to cast a light on which tracks made an impact on their lives, creative process and identity as a band.
Low – Dancing and Blood
Low’s entire discography has hugely influenced us over the years – from their harmonies, arrangements and production to the subdued but heavy emotions, their heavy slowcore…the list goes on and on. I think their latest release Double Negative, and this song in particular, was a major slap in the face – in the best way possible. Even though it sounds highly processed, they don’t lose the essence of their songwriting; it feels like a natural evolution. The arrangements, mood and progression of the song are incredibly interesting. It’s just proof that, no matter how much the production changes, if it’s based on well-written songs and the intention is genuine they can work in any context. Also, the video is perfect.
Sharon van Etten – Serpents
This song is a never-ending crescendo of emotion. A heavy track that feels very close to what we usually write, with a vocal melody that keeps evolving over the same four chords. And the way the band first enters – the choice of when and how to do that – and how they progress together are both really unexpected. There’s something very powerful about Sharon’s lyrics as well. Simple-sounding but deeply-moving.
The Walkmen – In the New Year
We were listening to a lot of Walkmen before and during the recording process, and it really inspired the way we wrote the drums and guitars. We love how each band member is always doing something really interesting and their instruments – including Hamilton’s insane vocals – sound really distinctive. But the genius of it is how nothing’s overdone, everything has its place and the whole sounds as good as the parts.
Yo La Tengo – Nowhere Near
It was really hard to choose one track since almost every song they write is perfect. We love the combination of Georgia’s airy, ‘thin’ vocals over the warm organ and guitar melodies, with the noise in the background creeping in halfway through and growing louder and louder. Yo La Tengo’s duality of mixing very acoustic poppy sounds with noise and crazy dissonances is very relatable. And it never goes into full chaos; it’s pretty contained.
Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather be Sleeping
Grouper is one of our favourites artists ever, especially her gorgeous vocal melodies and the way she uses her voice as an instrument. But even behind the production and vocal processing, there’s strong songwriting, not just sounds and effects. The two complement each other, giving her music an atmospheric but intimate feel.
—
Postcards will perform at Privatclub on 9th March 2020. More info here.
