This is the second Postal Blue album in a mere 18 year existence and so must signal a revival of shoegazing dream pop in their home country of Brazil. Yes, Brazilian shoegazers will be all over the airwaves next year at the Olympics I’m sure. Anyway, this album is out on the super cool Jigsaw Records.
It opens with gentle jangler Bitterness Is Sweet which sort of reminds me of early Belle and Sebastian and a bit of Josef K. I Always Knew is a continuance of that sort of style with a good dollop of Sarah Records thrown in. It’s carefully layered and the vocals seems to remain in a cool monotone as they tell the story of love betrayed again.
Still Blue seems to uses some wonderful background vocals to interweave with an organ that really is very Belle and Sebastian trying to be the Pastels; cool, laid back and very intricate musically. Isn’t It Funny opens with almost a military two step being beaten out on the drums before the brass and guitars all come in and take us on a cool journey of the sort Sean O’Hagan likes to take. It’s all very sophisticated and laid back.
Shape Of Your Life is the closest they come to a samba beat and it’s miles away from that really, but it has a more urgent feel to it with some cool jangly guitars. On and On has nothing whatsoever to do with Ariston but keeps the jangles coming, sweeping through like they have been listening to Broomtree by Downy Mildew and Belle and Sebastian’s debut and tried to fuse them together. It also seems to add layer upon layer of sound and all sorts of things going on that repeated listening will start to unfurl.
Does It Really Matter? Well does it? I guess it does as this is back in High Llamas-type territory with a cool jangly undertow. If You’re So Different isn’t that different to the rest of this album: sort of Pastels meets High Llamas with great jangly bits in it and loads of layers to the sound.
One Day is the most mournful track. It’s stripped back with Violins and egg shakers and it’s a lovely song. The album then closes with The Last Goodbye which, every time, leaves me singing a Downy Mildew song in my head which kind of says it might be a bit close in places but is no straight rip off: just another great shoegazing song.
This is a cool album and anyone who likes the bands referenced in this review will like this album and, let’s face it, we all need some Brazilian shoe gazing in our lives, don’t we? A perfect alternative soundtrack to next year’s Olympics.
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