By the Numbers

On By The Numbers, a collection of cover songs and the newest release from indie-pop darlings The Postmarks, there's a mood, a uniformity, that Francoise-Hardy-meets-John-Barry spin only the Miami-based group knows how to do best. Cover records have been done before, it's true, but hardly with such unique direction. No mere collection of favorites or inspirations, the tracks on By The Numbers are united not only by their ability to meld to Tim Yehezkely's breathy vocals and Christopher Moll and Jonathan Wilkins' lush arrangements, but also by the fact that their titles consecutively climb from one to eleven - the twelfth song is cleverly left for the Pointer Sisters' "Pinball Number Count," made popular by Sesame Street - a calendar's worth of material that traverses everything from the Cure ("Six Different Ways") to the Jesus and Mary Chain ("Nine Million Rainy Days") to the Ramones ("7-11") to Antonio Carlos Jobim ("One Note Samba").