Postal Service Deliver 'A Tattered Line Of String': Listen Now!

Ten years might have passed since the 2003 release of Give Up, but the Postal Service are still delivering heartbreakingly earnest lyrics over video-game-soundtrack beats like it was the early aughts. Case in point: The just-released "A Tattered Line of String," one of two new songs that will appear on the April 9 reissue of the electro duo's one-and-only album.

"String" fits pretty seamlessly in today's music scene — considering Alex Clare's rock/EDM mash-up "Too Close" or Owl City's ... well, everything — but Postal Service's sound was particularly novel back in 2003. The song's upbeat, cheery beat belies Ben Gibbard's hopeless lyrics about desperately trying to hold on to things you have no control over. "I've got a tattered line of string/ And I tie it ' round everything/ That I want to call my own/ But it never seems to hold," Gibbard, who also fronts Death Cab for Cutie, sings on the chorus.

Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis sings on the new song too, just as she did on many of Give Up's original tracks. In addition to the 10-year-anniversary reissue, the Postal Service will hit the road with Lewis starting April 9 in Reno, Nevada, for their first headlining tour in a decade. Those dates include back-to-back weekends at California's Coachella and a June 14 closing show at New York's Barclays Center.

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"A Tattered Line of String" debuted Monday (February 11) on BBC Radio. The second new song on the reissue is called "Turn Around" and also features vocals from Lewis.

Fans have been patiently waiting for new material from Gibbard and producer Jimmy Tamborello for years. Back in 2006, Gibbard told that new music was on the way. (Good thing we didn't hold our breath!) "We're slowly starting," he told us backstage at Bonnaroo seven years ago. "We're crawling right now, and whether that crawl turns into a walk remains to be seen. But we'll know more towards the end of the year. I've just been touring so much and trying to find time to make it happen and make our schedules line up."

What do you think of the new Postal Service song? Let us know in the comments!