Song of the Week: "Clark Gable" by The Postal Service

It’s practically winter at this point and the sun has been M.I.A for a few weeks; in other words: it’s yearning season.

“Clark Gable” is among one of the songs I wish I could inject into my veins. It’s a track that never feels loud enough or long enough (despite the 5 minute runtime). I wish the sound waves of this whole project could permeate into my very being.

Something about every sound just oozes the feelings of longing, bitterness, but also a whimsical joy. The production of “Clark Gable” is simplistic in a deceptive fashion; it boasts a minimal nature as if inviting others to strip it apart, but each and every detail is masterful and precise. Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis flutter in and out of earshot to provide some of the most beautiful call-and-responses I’ve heard in a while. Surrounding the two are wonderfully-glitchy drum machines and pitch-careening synths, assisted by grandiose, digital brass sections.

The Postal Service and its 2003 album Give Up is, without a doubt, quintessential indietronica. This is one of those bands I was painfully lacking until now. As a lifelong fan of Owl City, The Postal Service fills a void I didn’t know I had.