Image courtesy of phlym/Garret Seamans
THEBIGGERPICTURE (London) — On July 14th, Postcard Boy released a new EP, “Limbo”. The 6-track, 20-minute long project is about the “anticipation, longing and confusion generated during transitional phases”, he told Coup de Main Magazine. It is diverse in style and pace, ranging from what could be seen as more mainstream pop to almost industrial music at times.
Three singles supported the Limbo release; Dazed, Flight, and Company. Dazed, the first of the three singles to be released, features distinct guitar strums partnered with layered, warped vocals, accelerating at the end with a growling bass line and a distorted guitar solo. He sings about his struggles with love, crooning “you take from me everything that I needed / you could give to me everything that I’m dreaming”.
On "Flight" Postcard Boy, real name Garrett Seamans, reminisces about romance and the golden California summers he experienced in his youth growing up in San Diego. “Time stands still for a while / these days replay in my mind / tonight til’ I realize / these feelings already took flight”, he sings over intricate, layered instrumentation. The song ends with an atmospheric sample of kids whooping and hollering as waves crash against the seashore, accentuating the rose-tinted nostalgic feel.
The final single, “Company”, is more of a typical pop song, with a steady drum beat and simple guitar instrumentation layering the base for Seamans’ intimate vocals, about his desire for company, as the title implies. “I’m like America / too esoterical / will it ever get better? / two hundred years later”.
Garett Seamans also creates still and motion pictures under the pseudonym “phylm” for his more than 30,000 social media followers, photographing the likes of Gus Dapperton, Emma Chamberlain, and LANY.
Photos courtesy of phylm/Garret Seamans
He utilised these skills to self-direct four music videos for four tracks from this EP, which have been posted on his “phylm” YouTube account. The video for Dazed, shot by Charlie Alexander, shows Seamans walking down a beach during a glorious sunset, while the “Company” music video was a viral hit, showing him vibing to the track in 360° while walking down Hollywood Boulevard. The video for “Limbo”, the title track from the EP, is an iconic one, showing him in a number of different scenarios as he explores further the main theme of the EP, being “caught in limbo”, as the chorus goes. Finally, the "Sincerely" music video was released yesterday, depicting him driving a car with a variety of companions. All are worth watching, and are linked in the playlist shown below.
The final two tracks, “Sincerely” and “We’ve Been Here Our Whole Lives”, serve as two nostalgic closing moments to the EP. Warbling drone instrumentation and reverberating vocals fill “Sincerely” as Postcard Boy discusses the value of living in the moment, while “We’ve Been Here Our Whole Lives” features guitar solos upon nostalgic piano melodies as he sees his teenage years evaporating; “Come down baby don’t cry / we’ve been here our whole lives / waiting for something more… will there ever be anything more?”
The EP is a great project about transitional experiences, something everyone can relate to; if you’re a fan of Ryan Beatty, Kevin Abstract, Lontalius, or Roy Blair, this is definitely worth checking out.
Find links to stream “Limbo” on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, iTunes, YouTube and Amazon Music here; if you’re more of a Soundcloud user, find the EP in its entirety here. Make sure to follow Postcard Boy on Spotify | Apple Music | Soundcloud | Instagram | Twitter and his visual alias, “phylm”, on YouTube | Instagram | Portfolio site.