Comprised of Josh Augustin and Sam Winemiller, the Rochester, MN-based indie rock band Vansire can trace their origins to both Augustin and Winemiller playing music together in a number of musical settings, as part of the drumline for their high school’s pep band, followed by stints playing winds int he school symphonic band, pit orchestra and jazz band. And what initially began as a fun project in which both members would make the same kind of music as each other, quickly turned into a fully-fleshed out song “Bridges For The Young” by September of the year; however, unfortunately, the duo’s plans for an EP by the end of that month were dashed by logistical realities — namely, Winemiller, who’s a year older had started college while Augustin was finishing high school. But the determined duo found a way to work on material over the course the school year and the summer, completing what turned out to be their full-length debut Reflections and Reveries, an album that also features Winemiller’s younger brother Issac playing bass on “Pontchartrain” and their latest single “Postal Codes.”
“Postal Codes” features shimmering guitar chords, a sinuous bass line, subtly propulsive percussion and plaintive vocals in a wistful and subtly bittersweet song that clearly draws influence from shoegaze and surfer rock — early comparisons have been to DIIV and Real Estate, which isn’t terribly surprising as the song also manages to possess a dreamy yet wistful lament over something that’s irrevocably gone.
Adding to the wistful melancholy of the song, the recently released music video for the song is comprised of Super 8 footage of a family vacation, presumably shot during a vacation to Florida in 1965. Certainly, the visuals are meant to evoke a sad acceptance that our lives become full of lingering ghosts and memories of things we can’t ever get back.