It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost a decade since Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard released Give Up under the Postal Service moniker. The duo’s debut album – chock full of catchy electro-blips and even catchier melodies – went gold and was probably the soundtrack to a handful of lonely nights you spent pondering why your ex-girlfriend/boyfriend left, but don’t expect the sequel anytime soon.
In a new interview with Spinner, Tamborello – who is making the rounds promoting his Dntel project – pretty much implied that the odds are not in favor of a new Postal Service album coming out any time in the near future. “We started working on a couple songs,” he said, “then Ben got busy with Death Cab again.”
Busy is sort of an understatement. Death Cab has released three albums since Give Up (with a fourth due next Spring), and the 34-year-old Gibbard has also managed to squeeze in getting married, working with countless artists (including John Cale and Jay Farrar), and singing at baseball games over the past seven years. Tamborello also seems to have moved on. He is now recruiting singers to help him flesh out future projects, and while he has no ill feelings about not releasing Postal Service material, he is very realistic with his expectations for himself and Gibbard.
“I don’t think it’ll ever be officially over, but there’s a good chance that it’ll never come together,” said Tamborello. “I think at this point, everybody just assumes it’s not going to happen. It’ll be a pleasant surprise if we can get it together.”