Postcard Boy’s songwriting is intoxicating to his young adult audience. With lyrics broad enough to appeal to the masses, yet specific enough to identify with, his music evokes nostalgia with ease. It’s effortless, since he’s simply documenting his life.
Garrett Seamans, who goes by the stage name Postcard Boy, is a San Diego-born multidisciplinary artist and is just like most other 19-year-olds. He surfs and skates, goes to college, and explores various creative endeavors, but he articulates his adolescent experience like few others can.
Postcard Boy’s new song “Company” focuses on the solitude of a shifting social life during periods of change. Written as part of an upcoming EP during the summer after graduating high school, he channels the feeling of being distant from people who will be splitting apart after summer’s end.
“I think that the summer before leaving for college is really interesting because people get super sporadic and leaving your closest friends and family is an emotional time… that’s why the title of the [upcoming] EP is ‘Limbo’ because it’s a weird waiting period kind of thing,” Seamans said.
While singing in ranging pitches over a soft, heartfelt guitar, he skips through the crowds of Hollywood Boulevard in the “Company” interactive music video.
Armed with a 360-degree GoPro Fusion, a selfie stick, and headphones, Postcard Boy hopped back and forth along the bustling Walk of Fame twelve times to get the perfect shot. The video must be watched from multiple angles to catch every tourist he passes.
Midway through, he puts his hand up to high five a street performer, only for the character to feign interest and ignore him.
“Getting those weird looks from strangers was kind of what i wanted, because I wanted them to wonder ‘what is this kid doing’, because it adds to that feeling of alienation. There’s so much loneliness in this big crowd,” he said.
In a world currently dominated by COVID-19, the footage almost feels like a relic of a past era, though it was shot only months ago. “Company’s” longing for community is a near-universal sentiment, which Postcard Boy masterfully captures as a fragment of lost time. He excels at immortalizing moments, a skill he’s been developing for years through visual art and music.
Seamans began making art in middle school by shooting shorebreak and surf videos alongside his friends in Southern California. Soon enough, he began producing EDM to accompany his videos.
By the time the Postcard Boy project was launched in 2018, his photography, under the pseudonym phylm, had already found collaborators like indie-pop band LANY and social media influencer Emma Chamberlain.
Seamans uses a minimal approach in his photography to explore the emotions of people and places, while his music serves to examine his own psyche. Making art is ingrained in his lifestyle, but years of creative growth have improved his self expression. He’s nonchalant when discussing his work; his candid demeanor explains the authenticity of his music.
“Having these perspectives I gained through art is beneficial to myself and also for being a better friend,” he said. “Obviously putting yourself out there with music is scary, so I guess I’m still terrible at articulating my emotions but I’m more comfortable with being vulnerable.”
The new generation of artists and creators is fueled by restlessness, but Postcard Boy has cultivated his audience through a boundless passion for creating, no matter the format.
“Art is the greatest and worst thing at the same time, since it will tear you apart but also give you some of the most liberating moments of your life.”
“Company” is available for streaming now, and “Limbo” is set to release on June 19.
