Beirut’s Indie Dream Pop / Shoegaze Outfit Postcards’ Sophomore Album

On their 2020 album, the congenial, imaginative Lebanese three-piece have grown noticeably and achieve a rare feat: to welcome you with open arms upon the first encounter and lead you deeper into the multi-layered depths of their work with every new visit. The magical first impression lasts throughout this string of gloriously mellow autumn-coloured pop gems, but the true music connoisseur with a taste for genre-crossing experiences will find bliss on each and every intense dive into their world, with every trip underneath the surface bringing to light new treasures.

Almost completely removed from the musical roots of their home country, Julia Sabra, Pascal Semerdjian and Marwahn Tohme explore the vast stylistic territories of the European and American continents, while their English lyrics talk about their everyday life in the Lebanese capital Beirut. The vocals delivering them are amazingly smooth, with crystal clear and mysteriously breathy moments. But aside from the haunting energy of the charming lead vocalist’s angelic voice, the instrumental parts are impressively creative, expressive and varied with a magnetic pull, giving two-minute gems and epics lasting five minutes or more their breathtakingly colourful diversity which will surprise you even after several spins. At first, you will hear uncompromisingly distorted edginess, dry The Cure-twang, eclectic guitars, playful drums and silky, heart-warming, multi-layered vocal clouds wafting through the room. But soon you come across additional layers of beautifully placed sound effects and exciting key work that combine to a rich and emotive sound that transcends genre limits – an irresistible invitation to immerse yourself in the elements.

As you do so, you will experience the beauty and the peculiarities of over four decades of music, of the mysterious and dark side of Western rock and pop, tantalising harmonies, energising exuberance and violently fierce guitars – one after the other and all at once – sometimes just hinted at, sometimes played out to the fullest, sometimes exact and on point, sometimes dazzlingly colourful. Whether they were trained by years of music consumption or personal experience, the three sound magicians evoke memories of the heyday of the dark and gothic wonderworlds of wave, velvety, floating dream pop, eccentric, introspective shoegaze, as well as hard-hitting kraut rock epics, neo-progressive constellation sound waves with powerful walls of sound reminiscent of Muse, hypnotic tapestries of sound of a Pink Floyd-scale, danceably cool Blondie aesthetics, massive Godspeed You-style guitar peaks, longing Cowboy Junkies-desert country, moving Slowdive-charme, beautiful Cardigans-loveliness and Czars-tenderness.

Far below the surface of this intoxicating ocean of sound where, in the magical twilight between the all-pervading rays of sunlight and the gloomy mysteries of the never-ending depths of the soul, the colourful Postcards-imagination has made its home, continues to grow and create a steady stream of new waves, there is a diversity to be found that cannot be remotely grasped by however many meagre words. Postcards tenderly invite us to rediscover and experience a world of elements we thought familiar and to dive deep into a sea of emotion where escape is not even an option and all that matters is to stay.