An Alternative Music Favorite: Postcard Boy aka Carwash
An artist you should know about
Not much is known about Postcard Boy or Carwash, which are two project names by an artist named Garrett Seamans. I find it actually really nice when an artist lets their storytelling and art do all the telling. With artists, they do not need to be known personally if they do not want to. I did find a really great article about him where he does an interview though! Similar artists with amazing work with virtually nothing known about them include Instupendo and weirdo girl, both of whom make electronic instrumentals. Aidan Peterson is the guy behind Instupendo and I’ve been listening to him since my high school days and have some of his merch.
Before I talk about some of his songs, I do want to mention I recall seeing Garrett Seamans in another artist’s video. In Bennett Coast’s YouTube short film titled “everything new becomes normal,” Postcard Boy is featured. I immediately recognized him and got excited at the cameo. With Seaman’s project titled Carwash, there are a lot of catchy songs that feel nostalgic. Many teenagers and young adults can resonate with the songs, like “striptease,” “supermarket,” and “friendship.” I love the guitars and drums and rhythm of these songs. I recall being reminded one time of “striptease” and sharing it with some friends online and then later on the in the day finding out it was actually the song’s anniversary via Seaman’s Instagram story. What a coincidence!
While Carwash encompasses a lot of catchy songs that have an alternative rock influence, Postcard Boy is more experimental and a little more mellow, but still has pop elements. Most of Carwash’s songs are also short songs, ranging from two to four minutes. It reminds me of when I learned about how English singer-songwriter and record producer, PinkPantheress, stands by songs being short, saying that they do not need to be longer than two minutes and thirty seconds, as stated in an interview with ABC News. From the interview I checked out, I learned that Seamans does more than just make music. It really surprised me when I learned that he has worked with big names on photography projects like Emma Chamberlain. After checking out a few of his music videos on YouTube, it makes sense he is a photography aficionado with an affinity for film photography. I very much love the look of these scenes.
For Postcard Boy, the vocals were influenced by electronic music, very much like Instupendo, but the instrumentals on this project are alternative on the other hand. From his interview with Kaviya Raja, I very much enjoyed learning about how he loves writing and has a journal club. He has eight Moleskin journals and journals everyday, saying that if he didn’t write, he would go insane. I relate in the way that although I do not journal every day, I do it often and often have a lot of thoughts in my head that the paper can help with. Lastly, in the interview, he mentioned that he doesn’t give himself a hard time when he doesn’t write a lyric on a relax day or an outside day with family, specifically celebrating his Filipino grandma’s birthday!
Recently, I found out that his newest project is being in a band called “Holidays in the United States” via his Instagram.
Songs (Recommendations) of the Week
Here are a few introductory songs from both projects for new listeners:
References
https://dailycollegian.com/2023/05/behind-the-melodies-a-candid-conversation-with-postcard-boy/
https://allhiphop.com/news/pinkpantheress-debate-songs-two-minutes-thirty-seconds/#:~:text=However%2C%20pop%20star%20PinkPantheress%20believes%20most%20songs%20should,PinkPantheress%20stated%20during%20an%20interview%20with%20ABC%20News.