The High Water Marks will release their new album, Consult the Oracle, on May 16, and for our first glimpse, they’ve shared “Postcard”, a rollicking indie rock throwback that recalls the early work of Camera Obscura or The Sundays but with slightly more punk-adjacent impulses. You can trace their whirling power-pop leanings all the way back to when member Hilarie Sydney helped to found the legendary Elephant 6 Collective. Her love of, and affection for, pop music in all its winding glory has led her and her bandmates to break down various musical histories and reassemble them to service their own intermingled creativities. “Postcard” is a 2-minute jolt of electricity that reminds you of the relevance and necessity of churning pop anthems.
“Writing something down, pen to paper, automatically becomes more meaningful,” explains Sydney. “The art of writing and sending postcards, something you popped in the mail to say, ‘Here I am, and I’m thinking about you! Wish you were here.’ It’s romantic. You have to act through many steps to send it physically; first, you buy it, and you think about what you want to say because you can’t erase it. Then you must go to the store or the post office and buy a stamp and put it in the post. That’s commitment. Those few words on that little card make you feel like you mean something to someone, and the meaning behind the words themselves can be analyzed and interpreted in all kinds of ways to fit your narrative (not unlike the lyrics to the song). Perhaps you are hoping to read something between the lines? Anyway, it’s much better than a text message. Sending a postcard is a small act of resistance. Not to mention, if you wrote it on a postcard, it must be true.”
Listen below.
Consult the Oracle is due out May 16 on Meritorio Records. You can pre-order the album here. Follow the band on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
