‘Give Up’ was, in every way, a slow burner, with singles still coming out in 2005, and only reaching platinum status last year, but alas, 10 years on and it’s still the one and only release from The Postal Service. Outselling The Shins ‘Oh Inverted World’ and on its way to becoming Sub Pops biggest record since Nirvana’s ‘Bleach’, ‘Give Up’s’ synth-pop echoes the sounds of the 2000’s, spawning numerous copycat acts along the way and inspiring a generation of musicians into putting down guitars and picking up laptops.

Celebrating the ten-year journey, Sub Pop have released a two-disc special edition of the album with completely remastered tracks, b-sides, remixes and two brand new tracks from the band. Even now, in 2013, it’s not hard to hear why ‘Give Up’ was, and still would be a hit. The album’s highs represent the perfect union of Tamborello’s synths and Gibbard’s angst ridden yet beautiful lyrics. The best songs on the album, and I don’t just mean Brand New Colony or Such Great Heights but also Recycled Air and Nothing Better, evoke a sense of innocence and imagination in equal measure.

These are the songs that we fell in love with as teenagers and may have forgotten from our musical memories as we aged; aged in ways these songs didn’t.

By not recording a follow-up, The Postal Service never had to better themselves, it was left up to imitators like Hellogoodbye and Owl City to carry on the synth-pop banner. No, this album is not perfect by any means, and it’s possibly nostalgia that makes fans defend it so wholeheartedly, but the highs are high enough to offset any lows, and it’s that nostalgia which allows you to forget its downfalls.

The album itself stands the test of time, the new tracks and remixes, not so much. The bleak and dreary A Tattered Line of String showcases the duo’s developments and heightened melodies, but they lack any real connection with the original album. In fact, hearing them try to re-create that sound 10 years on is just off-putting. ‘Give Up’ is defined by its time, anchored in its heyday, serving as a reminder of how far we have come since we first listened to it, as young, angst ridden, spotty teens that spoke more with our music than our mouths.