Seraphina Lotkhamnga on June 30th, 2011

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The Echo became a haven for buoyant, squeaky-clean guitar pop on Wednesday as the Postelles closed the night out as part of a stellar all-ages lineup. Clinging to a hybrid of sticky melodies from the doo-wop days and the energy of today’s garage-rock scene, the New York City quartet played to a young, eager crowd who dialed into to its kinetic delivery.

The Manhattan-bred foursome quickly made a name for itself three years ago in the Big Apple, but due to contractual complications, their momentum was put on pause before anybody could actually hit play. Now, with their self-titled debut finally out via +1 Records, their set boasted all the pop-rock nuggets they had been polishing. And even a bit road-weary, frontman Daniel Balk and mates Dabid Dargahi, John Speyer and Billy Cadden projected their zeal onto a willing crowd.

Their origins in New York inevitably have them walking in the shadows of the Strokes – Albert Hammond Jr. co-produced the record, which seems trapped between Julian Casablanca’s cockiness and the post-punk of the Kooks.

Still, songs such as “White Night” and “Can’t Stand Still” sounded fresh live, bursting with plump sing-along choruses and wedges of wit in the back-and-forth vocals. Balk prodded the crowd to get crazier than their fans do in New York (and played to the West Coasters by covering “California Sun”), and the audience responded. In return, the Postelles served up more swivel-your-hips rock ’n’ roll, and if it was short on the grit, the set made up for it with youthful exuberance.

They saved their latest single, “1,2,3 Stop,” for late in their 40-minute set, and by then stopping seemed like a lousy idea. The Echo crowd got an encore, the promise of a return visit later in the year and, probably, the echo of a Postelles chorus floating ’round in their heads for the rest of the evening.

L.A. bands Pageants, Pan Am and Kitten opened the night.