The Postal Service announce indefinite hiatus
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(Credits: Subpop)
Following a two-year reunion, frontman Ben Gibbard has announced that The Postal Service will be entering an indefinite hiatus after the conclusion of their current tour.
The group, which also features Jenny Lewis and Jimmy Tamborello, have been touring alongside Gibbard’s other band, Death Cab For Cutie. On the run of dates, which included a co-headline set at All Points East in London last month, both bands have been taking to the stage with Gibbard pulling double duties.
Notably, The Postal Service have only released one album, 2003’s Give Up, which has taken on cult classic status. For the ten year anniversary of their LP, they previously reunited in 2013 before leaving it for another decade and then uniting again in 2023 for the extended world tour with Death Cab For Cutie, which is nearing its conclusion.
Initially, the co-headline tour, which also saw Death Cab For Cutie play their classic album Transatlanticism in full, was only set to run throughout 2023, but it was extended due to the demand to see the two acts together.
On September 21s, the 20th anniversary tour is set to conclude with one final date at the HFStival in Washington, DC.
In a statement published on Instagram, Gibbard explained that the show in Washington would mark the final page in this current chapter of The Postal Service’s story noting, “Hey Everyone, As we bring the Transatlanticism / Give Up Tour to a close, I want you all to know that getting the opportunity to perform these two albums live has been one of the greatest thrills and honors of my entire life.”
Reflecting on the last 12 months, he joyfully shared, “On behalf of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service; Thank you so much for coming out and singing along. We will see you all again somewhere down the road.”
While The Postal Service are going on indefinite hiatus, Death Cab For Cutie plan to remain active, and are set to play the Rockin’ On Sonic festival in Japan next January.
Looking back on the success of the co-headline tour with the Los Angeles Times earlier this year, Gibbard believed the demand was down to the extended hiatus of The Postal Service, which has made them even more popular than Death Cab For Cutie.
Gibbard explained: “It’s an issue of scarcity: When the Pixies came back after not playing a show for 10 or 15 years, they were playing venues way bigger than the places they played when they were actually a band. So of course the Postal Service is gonna headline the show. We sold 13,000 seats in Toronto a couple nights ago. The last time Death Cab played Toronto, we played Massey Hall, which is like 2,800 people. We all know what’s driving these tickets.”
Although they are now on hiatus, Gibbard’s statement doesn’t draw a permanent line under their tenure. Perhaps in another decade’s time, The Postal Service will reunite once again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Give Up.
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