Rochester (US) based artist, Haiden Gerstner, goes by the name of “Postcard” with his debut single, Don’t Tell Me. We’ve been taking a listen here today at the Send Me Your Ears studio.
With single notes on electric guitar to start the song, it quickly launches into a full band sound that wouldn’t be out of place alongside The Cure or perhaps The Smiths. The song reminded us particularly of “This Charming Man”. Vocally sounding very much in this genre.
Don’t Tell Me is a song about being far away from someone who doesn’t seem to care. Despite the sad subject matter, Don’t Tell Me actually is quite a bouncy and positive sounding track.
The drums keep an interesting and exciting rhythm throughout that’s full of energy and passion. There’s also some really unique choices of bass notes at times that are quite unexpected.
Gerstner’s vocals during the falsetto sections are superb. Managing to reach heights that feel as though they would be out of the comfort zone of most male vocalists, Gerstner pulls them off with aplomb.
All instruments, vocals, mix and master are done by “Postcard” from his bedroom studio and for a debut single, this is a good start. Sitting at under 2 minutes and 30 seconds, this blast of post-punk indie-rock is one which we have no doubt will appeal to fans of The Cure or The Smiths.
This is promising start for this new artist. A few adjustments in the EQ and volume and it would hold its place amongst other commercial releases of a similar genre. Firstly a boost across the bottom 5 octaves, particularly in the low mids around 250-300Hz would balance out the song on the whole and add some warmth and punch to the fullness of the track. It would be wise to cut a little around 180-190Hz though to avoid boosting the tuned tone of the snare. A cut around 2.5-3kHz would reduce the harsh tones in the guitar and finally a shelf boost from around 8kHz to add some extra brightness and air. The track itself is a little quiet so using a gentle compressor to add maybe 5dB would bring it more in line. We loved the early 80s feel and we believe this style has been captured very effectively by this young artist.
The debut single from Postcard is one which harks back to a bygone era that feels slightly Britpop and slightly retro. We commend Postcard for this great start into a solo career and look forward to hearing how things progress for him.