The Postmarks’ second original album, Memoirs at the End of the World, might be the classiest record you hear all year. Putting San Diego to shame, the Miami-based trio loads it up with shimmering lounge-pop combined with clever twists and slick-backed production. Memoirs… is a charmingly seductive affair: full of smoky melodies and a wonderful array of old school rhythms.
From the opening, 007-esque "No One Said This Would Be Easy", the band strongly establishes one of the album’s main themes: elegance. Lush orchestration blends with a mellow rock movement while singer Tim Yehezkely’s dry delivery smoothly fills in the gaps. From there, the album jumps around various levels of energy while maintaining a glamorous atmosphere. The ’60s-twee romp "My Lucky Charm" is the most up-tempo offering on Memoirs… while "Run Away Love" and "I’m In Deep" shows off the threesome’s complex understanding of moods.
On Memoirs…, The Postmarks subtly execute a substantial amount of experimentation without disrupting the ultra-cool vibe. The harpsichord-and-digitally enhanced jam "For Better Or Worse?" is a powerful example of their ability to blend throwback and modern sounds with ease. The slow acoustic dirge "All You Ever Wanted" is based on circularly strange (but fantastic) percussion while a sitar and swirling brass accentuate it. The closing track "Gone" ends the album on a well-chilled note, as several layers of chamber-pop gorgeousness flow in a deep current.
It’s almost guaranteeable that you’ll struggle to find a cooler album than Memoirs at the End of the World this year. It’s sexy, innocent, careful and care-free at the same time and filtered through stratospherically skilled production. If this is what the end of the world sounds like, we’ll all be pretty relaxed about it.