The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals.

The band has regrouped twice for the anniversaries of Give Up, in both 2013 and 2023; each time they were accompanied by a rotating cast of support musicians, including Laura Burhenn, Jen Wood,[2][3] Dave Depper and Jason McGerr.

The band announced that their last performance would be on September 21, 2024 at HFStival in Washington D.C.[4] The group formed after Ben Gibbard contributed vocals for a song by Jimmy Tamborello called "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", from the Dntel album Life Is Full of Possibilities.

Ironically, despite the final name they chose for the project, they did not use the United States Postal Service as a courier; the CDs were sent through either FedEx or UPS.

It was also later covered by Amanda Palmer, Ben Folds, The Scene Aesthetic, Brack Cantrell, Streetlight Manifesto, Confide, Gareth Pearson, Joy Kills Sorrow and Postmodern Jukebox.

[8] In 2007, "Such Great Heights" appeared in the background of the "whiteboard" advertising campaign for one of the federal establishment's private competitors, the United Parcel Service.

"[12] In a December 2008 interview with Rolling Stone, Gibbard laughed off suggestions that The Postal Service's long overdue follow-up to their 2003 hit Give Up would be an indie version of the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, which took 15 years to produce and release.

"[13] In November 2012, Ben Gibbard posted on his Twitter account that there are "no plans" to produce another Postal Service record, and did not cite any specific reason for this statement, other than the fact that multiple fans questioned if there was going to be a second album.

[15][16] The following month, The Postal Service announced it would officially reunite for an extended world tour with venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, Sasquatch!

[17][18][19][20][21] Along with the reunion, the band released their first new track in ten years called "A Tattered Line of String" featuring Jenny Lewis.

Guest stars on the video include "Weird Al" Yankovic, Moby, Duff McKagan, Tom DeLonge, Aimee Mann, Jon Wurster, Page Hamilton, Nate Mendel, and Marc Maron.

[24] On August 3, 2013, Ben Gibbard announced on Twitter that the Lollapalooza after-show would be the last Postal Service performance ever, and that the band would formally disband permanently after the show, finally quashing rumors of a highly anticipated second album.

[27] On October 6, 2020, The Postal Service created new social media accounts for the band and teased an announcement for the following day, sparking speculation about new music.

[28] The announcement was a mock video conference featuring Gibbard, Tamborello, and Lewis along with several musicians and celebrities urging people in the United States to vote in the November election, done in the style of 2013's "The Postal Service Auditions".

Give Up was played in full at each show, followed by an encore of "Such Great Heights" on acoustic guitar and a cover of "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode.

In August 2024, ahead of the band's UK and European leg of the tour, Gibbard reflected on whether there could be a second The Postal Service album, noting: "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.

"[32] On 7 February 2025, The Postal Service released a live recording of their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" from the 2023-2024 reunion tour, on the benefit charity compilation Good Music to Lift Los Angeles.