The Postelles

Chronique

Like the coolest kids at the sock hop, the Postelles play mid-century rock & roll with a hipster twist, modeling their melodies after Buddy Holly one minute and Elvis Costello the next. It’s a 1950s sound filtered through New York City’s 21st century indie scene, but the Postelles don’t bridge the gap themselves as much as take their cues from the Strokes, who all but perfected this sound ten years ago. The comparisons between both groups are strengthened by Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr., an early champion of the Postelles, and who produces four tracks on this debut. Hammond treats the band’s guitar riffs as though they were his own, adding jangle, fuzz, and distortion to roughen up their bubblegum sound. The album also includes eight songs that weren’t produced by Hammond, yet his specter looms large throughout, and the Postelles (who produced the remaining tracks themselves) spend most of their time re-creating Is This It? with scrubbed-up, squeaky-clean results. Ultimately, that’s where the album fails. The Strokes used retro styles to paint a picture of seedy, modern-day Manhattan, but the Postelles sound as seedy as an episode of “Leave It to Beaver,” with songs that long to be dirty but come off as antiseptic. The bright, fizzy melodies cry out for some sort of foil -- for the garage rock swagger of the Strokes, namely, or even the down-in-the-dumps wit of Fountains of Wayne -- and Daniel Balk’s lyrics (“She goes ooh, ooh, ooh, and I reply oh, oh, oh!”) prove there’s no real meat at the center of this cotton candy fluff.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo