Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
May 9th, 2008 | 6:34 pm est |
After spending the better part of a decade in the musical minor leagues, Death Cab for Cutie went pro with 2005’s Plans, a record whose optimism and Technicolor sound gave the band enough leverage to finally enter the mainstream. “Soul Meets Body” became their biggest rock single to date, but it was Ben Gibbard’s delicate love song, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” that earned the quartet a Grammy nomination and legions of new fans. Some bands might have taken a cue from such success and resigned themselves to a career of acoustic ballads, not unlike the Goo Goo Dolls’ transformation in the mid-’90s. But Narrow Stairs roughs up Plans‘ bright palette with something starker, more harrowing, and altogether darkened by Gibbard’s blues. No longer crooning about immortal love or his desire to embrace all of Manhattan, the frontman lives inside his own troubled head on these eleven tracks — or at least the heads of the characters he conjures up with ease, like some music-minded novelist with a knack for pop melodies and witty observations. There’s “Cath,” an ill-married girl who “holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child,” as well as the creepy stalker in “I Will Possess Your Heart,” who simply demands that his intended lover give him the time of day. Elsewhere, Gibbard examines a friend’s recent heartbreak by referencing her bedroom furniture (”Your New Twin Sized Bed”), offering up his concern — if not quite his help — while the band conjures up a lazy summer’s day with gauzy keyboards and brightly chiming riffs. Such contrast between music and text plays an occasional role on Narrow Stairs, with songs like “No Sunshine” and “Long Division” pairing somber lyrics with upbeat orchestration. But the album largely paints itself as the darker, mysterious cousin to Plans — raw rather than polished, heartbroken rather than optimistic, enigmatic rather than energetic. Gibbard strings his words together with an army of free-flowing ‘and’s and ‘but’s, and the resulting lyrics — long, uncoiling sentences with no clear end — mirror his characters’ desperate attitudes. Narrow Stairs is far from desperate, however, and the album’s willingness to steer Death Cab into unfamiliar territory (or, to reference an earlier lyric, “into the dark”), is by far its strongest asset.
I’ve only heard “I Will Possess Your Heart” and I’m not terribly impressed. As I understand it, the CD version of this song is 8+ minutes? The radio-friendly 4 minute version almost put me to sleep. The CD version may actually be toxic to carbon-based life forms.
But I’m really hoping the rest of this CD continues the growth Death Cab has shown in each new release. This is a band is maturing very nicely and following a Springsteen-esque pattern (dark lyrics, good melodies).
I for one am terribly excited for this album. I’ve only heard a few songs off their latest album thus far (”I Will Possess Your Heart” and “Cath…” and I have already come to love the song “Cath…” so I definitely cannot wait until I hear the rest. Great review.
I’ve heard a stream of this online and was very impressed. It’s much more varied and colorful than anything they have released to date. The album opens with “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, a slow-building epic that segues into the excellent “I Will Possess Your Heart”, an 8 minute Can-esque jam. “No Sunlight” and “Cath” are two great pop-rock songs in a row with chiming guitarwork and impassioned lyrics. “Talking Bird” is a more sullen, moody track, leading into the nice, short ditty “You Can Do Better Than Me”, which, in perspective, is one of the weaker tracks. “Grapevine Fires” is another excellent track, and actually contains elements of soul. “Your New Twin Sized Bed” couples interesting lyrics with a great guitar line. “Long Division” contains a rather heavy chorus that works when coupled with the off-kilter music, which rides on an interesting-sounding time singnature. “Pity and Fear” is another dark track that rides on a tribal drum n’ bass beat. “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” is a forlorn, desperate ending track.
Personal Track Picks-
I Will Possess Your Heart
Cath
Grapevine Fires
Your New Twin Sized Bed
I bought the album yesterday at my local indie-record store, and I am absolutely loving it. The first 2 songs (the almost 6 min. “Bixby Canyon Bridge” and the 8+ min. “I Will Possess Your Heart”) are as good as DCFC have ever been. Those 2 alone make this worth buying, period. This is definitely not “Plans 2″.
And live they seem revitalized as well. Saw them at Coachella two weeks ago where they played a bunch of the new songs, and they ROCKED!
I guess I’m in the minority here, but in my mind DCFC peaked with their debut “Something About Airplanes.” “We Have the Facts …” was also good, but I haven’t enjoyed anything they’ve released since then, and I’ve heard ‘em all. A bit too wussy and ordinary for my tastes. Different strokes, I guess. Either way, good for them. I still remember discovering them by accident in a tiny bar in Richmond, VA 8-9 years ago. I certainly never thought they would get this big.
its so hard being upper middle class : ( - now i have some tunes just for me
Did anyone else get got by the april fool “leak” of this album?