The Postal Service is going back into hibernation. The acclaimed indie pop group is once again going on hiatus after their highly successful 2024 tour, which was tied to the 20th anniversary of the band’s album Give Up and Death Cab for Cutie’s album Transatlanticism.
A joint statement from the groups (which both feature singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard) noted that “all good things must come to an end,” with the tour wrapping up with Saturday’s Washington, D.C. concert at HFStival. There was no announcement of further activity for The Postal Service, which has only reunited for various anniversary tours over the years.
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“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,” Gibbard wrote. “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.”
The Postal Service began as Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, with singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis joining as their third member no long after. Their solo album, 2003’s Give Up, is often hailed as one of the greatest and most influential albums of the 2000s. It’s a key record in the indie pop genre and features songs like “Such Great Heights” and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” Their only effort outside of Give Up was the 2014 concert documentary Everything Will Change, which was later accompanied by a live album.
When NME recently asked about the possibility of more Postal Service recordings after this tour, Gibbard maintained his position that it’s not in the cards.
“I think the main reason that a second Postal Service record has never come to fruition – and will never come to fruition – the time commitments that Death Cab ended up taking, which really started with Transatlanticism, haven’t really ever let up,” Gibbard said. “There’s just not enough time, let alone creative juices flowing, to make a suitable follow-up [to Give Up]. I think anything that we would attempt to make at this point would be thoroughly disappointing.
“The stakes are just lower [in Death Cab] when you’re putting an album out every two to three years. If people don’t like this one, there’ll be another one later. But after 20 years, there is no way we could ever follow that up in a way that would be satisfying to people. I would rather have all my focus on Death Cab than be watering both projects down. I just don’t have the capacity to do both. Some might argue I barely have the capacity to do one!”
