New Death Cab album helps unearth local man's blog. Story at 11.

Long time no see.


Death Cab For Cutie has a new album out. It's called Narrow Stairs and I'm going to tell you what I think of it. No one asked me. Now they don't have to.

I started listening to Death Cab in the period between Transatlanticism and Plans. What that says to most Death Cab fans is that I started listening during their transition from indie icon to major label sellout. This assessment is unfair and frankly is the reason why indie bands have so much trouble lasting.

I wasn't around for the fan response to Transatlanticism, but I distinctly remember a huge number of people abandoning ship when Plans was released. I always wondered how this could be true since Plans contains some of the most poignant moments in their catalogue (moments like "What Sarah Said" and "I will Follow You into the Dark"). I couldn't understand how those songs could be considered part of a sellout process. People generally decided that there wasn't as much emotion behind the songs on Plans. I think those people need to listen harder. However, having heard this new album I can see to a greater extent why people say that Plans was not Death Cab at their best.

Those vocal Death Cab purists should be appeased if not silenced by Narrow Stairs. This is an album packed with heartbreak and lovelessness expressed in a familiar (though renewed) Ben Gibbard style. What I love about Gibbard's lyrics is that he is never satisfied with expressing a commonplace love story, and this is more evident on Narrow Stairs than ever before. He writes in vignettes, using nameless characters as means to portray an aspect of being lonely or being heartbroken that hasn't been explored. Whether it be in the first person or the omniscient, he twists his lovers until they are profound. This ability to be literary while not losing the structure and the method of songwriting is something that Gibbard shares with some of the best musicians in history. It is also an ability that is sorely lacking among songwriters today, which is why it is so refreshing that (despite being on a major label) Chris Walla produced bands like Death Cab and The Decemberists continue to push forward.

Transatlanticism is not entirely dark, but its centerpiece, "Tiny Vessels" may be the song that is most representative of Gibbard's ability to be dark without losing his listeners' attention. However, "Tiny Vessels" and most of the rest of Transatlanticism are significant for their lack of studio production. From the first few wispy synth chords on "Marching Band of Manhattan," Plans was an experiment for guitarist/producer Chris Walla. Some said that it proved that the production sheen of major labels doesn't fit with Death Cab's sound. Narrow Stairs shows that this is not true. Death Cab can use synthesized noise to express themselves just as easily as they can use heavy distortion. In fact, the manner in which the sheer amount of instrumentation drowns out the lyrics and melodies in this new album should remind Death Cab listeners of similar moments on Transatlanticism.

I hope that this album shuts people up who say that Ben Gibbard has been sucked into the major label underworld. In my mind this album makes it clear that you have to give a band an album to find their sea legs when they switch to a major label instead of judging them so quickly. Once again, Death Cab shows us the way.