The Postelles Sneer at 'Hip' Digital Bands, Embrace Strokes Comparisons -- NXNE

With a flair for '60s rock, the Postelles want you to shake, rattle and roll with the release of their recent full-length self-titled debut. Thanks to the co-production of the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr., the record has earned serious attention for its hooks and melodies, leaving the New York City four-piece as confident as ever that their retro approach to music trumps the digitized trend seen today. Gearing up to play NXNE, we asked frontman Daniel Balk think what sets his band apart (not using computers, for one) and how he feels about those unavoidable Strokes comparisons.

To start, your video for 'Sleep on the Dance Floor' bares a certain resemblance to the dance scene in 'Grease.' Do you think romanticizing the past is unavoidable?

I think there's definitely a small group of bands who like throwing it back. Maybe in a fashion sense, I see a lot of bands and a lot of people going back to that era so maybe that's why the director for 'Sleep on the Floor' wanted to do that. But I'd say [it's] fashion-wise more than music.

So how are you keeping rock and roll modern in 2011?

We always like to try new things, but we're not the type of band that necessarily goes in the studio and says, "What instrument can we use that no one else has ever used before?' At this point in our careers, we just want to write the best songs we can for ourselves. We're not really the type of band that's going to use a type of instrument that we just invented so that we can use it and it's different. If it sounds good for the song, we'll do it, but we're not going to force it.

What do you think is missing in music right now?

I think too many bands right now use computers, and just try to do what's cool and what's hip. I think a lot of bands do a lot that's "new" and "different," but not necessarily good. And they'll just do it because it's different, and sometimes it's interesting and sometimes it works, but I think a lot of bands right now [are] trying to be so different that everyone actually sounds the same. I turn on an indie rock station, and I don't know the difference between any other band that has an animal name or whatever.

I hope that we're bringing back [the idea of] kids actually learning how to play their instruments and actually caring about how to be a musician and jamming together and becoming a band.

Watch the Postelles Video for 'Sleep on the Dance Floor'
You've also drawn those inevitable Strokes comparisons, which tend to be especially pronounced in the current musical climate. Why do you think that is? And what do you think about it?

I think it's always been around, but I think people are running out of things to write. I also think there's too many bands. It's great that there's so many, but I think there's a point where there's too many and people don't even listen to the band, they just say, "Oh, they live in New York and they play guitar, so they sound like the Strokes." It's just the laziness of journalists not actually giving a real review of the music and just comparing it to other bands.

But it could also be the bands' fault, some do sound too much like each other. It's a shame. But for us, if people say we sound like the Strokes, that's a cool thing because I love the Strokes. So, if anything, I'll take it as a compliment.

What kind of hopes do you have for your debut?

[Laughs] I would love to say it would blow every record away through record sales, but that's probably not going to happen. I hope people find the record refreshing. There's a lot of really good bands around, but I think that this record will be different than the others -- we care about every song, every single hook and every single chord change, and it really means a lot to us. We may have recorded it a long time ago, but the songs still matter to us a lot. We really care about writing that two-minute and three-minute pop song, and it might be refreshing for young people who may go back and listen to old records [because of us].

The Postelles play the Garrison tonight (June 15)
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