How far has music technology come in the last 30 years? A long way yet there is something both appealing and disturbing in the music of Postman with their album “Home” being powered by the retro electronic sounds of the past while remaining in low orbit around the problems of today.
The question, however, is whether this is artistic choice or just pretension on Postman’s part. And it is an interesting question as the very simplicity of the songs on this album creates an oppressive ambience with everything melting together as if created for the sole purpose of brain washing you into submission. The vocals, however, add an element of discord and, instead, turn what could have been the voice of the machine into the voice of man trapped inside the machine. Add in the oblique lyrics – “Future” was a particular fine example of these – and the result evokes nothing less than the tortured isolationism of early Joy Division.
“Home” may well find a natural home in the arthouse yet I wonder if the very darkness that looms large over this deliberately monotone album is actually a ruse to persuade you to switch on the light and see what is actually happening around you.