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Review: Postbox - EPby cy on 04 May 2009 tags: ep reviews Local music  
Rating: 3/5 By Jeremy Lua Amidst all the gloom these days – of recession, financial meltdowns/write-downs/close-downs, global pandemics and what not, comes a young band, Postbox, hoping to lift hearts and put smiles onto faces with their recently released EP, Miss Sunshine. Led by front-woman/girl Samantha Teng’s, the EP is a collection of 6 insanely catchy and cheerful tunes released in February this year. With Samantha’s dreamy pipes brimming with optimism, the jangling guitars, catchy riffs and infectious rhythms, the band’s sound is an indie-pop thoroughbred – dreamy, wistful and cute. The first track off the EP I Want Discopop is standard indie-pop fare; the combined elements of a infectious rhythm, wistful lyrics and a sing-along chorus creates a ridiculously catchy track that is impossible for one not to bob his head and tap his feet along too. Miss Sunshine, the title track, simply screams “twee” – with its handclaps, jangling guitars and the fact that it is simply so chirpy. It’s cheerfulness seems to bring to mind that of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz as she skips down the yellow brick road – what can beat “I’m bored/Why can’t my music cheer me up today” ? Another gem is the song, A Moment, which starts off with a gradual build-up of the various instruments that ventures into haunting, post-rock territory (which is unsurprising as bassist, Isa Ong, is from Amateur Takes Control) and is a refreshing break cheerfulness that borders on creepiness in the Barney-esque way that is the first 4 tracks of the EP. In my opinion, this is possibly the greatest track on the album, as it not only displays the musical abilities of the band but also showcases Samantha’s lyrical maturity – “I get nightmares so often/I can’t define fear/darkness and silence surround me”. Perhaps, the song stands out because it isn’t just a song per se; it is a story of lost love – a recount of her raw emotions. However, the song A Moment also highlights a problem with the songs off the EP. Less A Moment, the other songs seem to fall into a cliche that may suggest that the songs were written with a set formula in mind – of jangling, shimmering guitars, catchy rhythm, innocent lyrics and an (excessively) cheerful mood. The songs also tend to be slightly one-dimensional – but that may also be attributed to the production and mixing of the album as well. In additional, some of the songs appear to have an unsteady rhythm in the form of unintended shifts in tempo, which takes a bit of shine off the album. As a whole, I enjoyed the EP. It kept a smile on my face, and with more time to perfect their art (bearing in mind that these guys are only 19), I’m pretty sure we can expect indie-pop twee-fection from these guys in their next release. Track Listing1. I Want Discopop! Check the band out on <a href = “http://www.myspace.com/postboxband”>MySpace. |
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