Postmarks 'Memoirs At The End Of The World' album

The concept for The Postmarks second record, Memoirs at the End of the World was born at a dingy bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side. They wanted to go into darker territories that the first album only hinted at. After the release of their debut in 2007, their love for cinematic themes and classic pop needed to be more than that... it needed to be realized on a grand scale in a way that still said: "The Postmarks were here," scrawled across a studio wall.

Lead singer/songwriter Tim Yehezkely, we should point out, is a gal with a boy's name; a beautiful, yet inscrutable individual possessed of a soft-textured voice that's simultaneously seductive and detached. When Tim Yehezkely sings, clocks stop, people listen, and ice cream refuses to melt.

So, how did an Anglophile/Francophile indie band come to form in the rock cover-versions hub that is South Florida? Jonathan Wilkins had been based in San Francisco scoring music for independent films while Christopher Moll – born in the Bronx – had already established himself as a gifted composer, arranger and producer around Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. He also shared Wilkins' passion for film music, and as Wilkins tells it, the pair's friendship was sealed by a shared appreciation of the score for the 1973, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing-appointed gore-fest Horror Express, a flick they'd both seen as kids.

By 2004, Wilkins was periodically DJ-ing at Dada, a Palm Beach venue that sometimes had open-mic nights. One evening a girl with a boy's name got up. It was Tim Yehezkely, of course, and when the enigmatic, Tel Aviv-born singer managed to silence, then enthrall, the normally rowdy crowd, Wilkins approached her afterward, and made sure Moll had a chance to see her. The Postmarks were soon born.

The trio recorded their beguiling debut album scored for strings, brass and woodwind, and found a home on Andy Chase's Unfiltered Records in the Spring of 2007. The band soon headlined a national tour, played shows with Múm, The Apples in Stereo, The Album Leaf and The New Pornographers, took the stage at Lollapalooza in 2007 and made a memorable appearance on Nickelodeon’s cult kid’s show Yo Gabba Gabba. A year later they embarked on a recording project that culminated in a covers album entitled By the Numbers, which the band released in November of 2008.

The Postmarks recorded Memoirs themselves between August of 2008 and February of 2009 in their home recording studios, taking a collaborative approach to the process. The resulting 13-track album combines the band's proclivity for gritty, atmospheric pop songs with enchanting melodies that draw significant inspiration from film soundtracks. Memoirs is a leap forward for The Postmarks, expressed with ambient textures from dub reggae, horn arrangements from classic soul, and elements of experimentation reminiscent of sounds heard at the birth of electronic music.

The Postmarks tour dates
w/stellastarr*, Wild Light:

7/15 @ Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

7/16 @ Highline Ballroom - New York, New York

7/17 @ Rock ’n’ Roll Hotel - Washington DC

7/18 @ Ottobar - Baltimore, Maryland

7/20 @ 20th Century Theatre - Cincinnati, Ohio

7/21 @ The Basement - Columbus, Ohio

7/23 @ Double Door - Chicago, Illinois

w/Peter Bjorn And John:

9/3 @ The Social - Orlando, Florida

other Postmarks information
New York indie label Unfiltered Records has specialized in unadulterated alternative pop since their first release by Brookville in 2003. Unfiltered was initially a label oriented around releasing musician/producer Andy Chase’s own circle of projects including the entire catalog of his critically acclaimed group, Ivy. The label has also released two albums by Chase's other band, Brookville and Paco, the side project of Ivy’s singer Dominique Durand. The label quickly gained traction and began to carve a niche for itself in the world of “moody dream pop”. The Unfiltered artist roster also includes the critically acclaimed debut album from The Postmarks (who spent 5 weeks in the CMJ Top 20) and Brooklyn via New Zealand’s The Grey Race.

As a producer, Andy Chase has enjoyed success with the French pop group Tahiti 80, whose debut album “Puzzle” was a critical and commercial hit around the world. Chase also co-owns Stratosphere Sound recording studio in NYC with former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Ivy band mate (also in Fountains Of Wayne) Adam Schlesinger. Stratosphere, a fully-equipped 24 track facility built around a classic Neve console, has quickly become one of the premier “go to” studios in NYC.

Unfiltered has recruited Michael Galbe as General Manager. Galbe, who will be handling day to day operations, is joining Unfiltered Records from MTV Networks where he served as Vice President of Music and Talent. Prior to his time at MTV, he spent 9 years as an international marketing executive at Jive Records.

Unfiltered will christen the new partnership with the release of The Postmarks Memoirs At the End of the World on 08/18/09 followed by Brookville’s third album Broken Lights in September. Unfiltered also recently signed Ukrainian/New York ingénue, Lana Mir. Her blend of vintage tinged alternative pop has elements of Feist, Nouvelle Vague, Sade and even Billie Holiday. Look for her debut EP this September featuring a cover of the Stone Roses classic “I Wanna Be Adored”. 2010 will bring a full length from Lana Mir as well as a brand new Ivy album.

The Postmarks new record comes on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2007 debut and well received 2008 covers album By The Numbers. Pitchfork raved that "The Postmarks self-titled debut may prove to be one of 2007's most sublime pop albums." and Rolling Stone added that The Postmarks "mines the same vein of indie folk popularized by Camera Obscura and Belle and Sebastian."

The Miami trio fronted by the sultry indie-songstress Tim Vehezkely is currently putting the finishing touches on Memoirs At The End of the World at Chase's Stratosphere Sound in NYC. The Postmarks plan to tour extensively this summer behind their new record. Summer tour info to be announced in the near future.

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