Albums

Album Review: Death Cab For Cutie

[Album: Narrow Stairs]
[Label: Atlantic]

Being three years in the waiting, Death Cab For Cutie fans were expecting great, dark things from the band’s sixth full-length studio effort. ‘Narrow Stairs’, stylishly and deftly, fulfils these expectations with lyricist Ben Gibbard’s effortless narrative supported by discordant pianos and distorted guitars.

Death Cab’s usual sound is that of a lucid desolation which wraps around songs that tell of characters with whom it is easy to empathise and relate. They are pitiful, rather than the quietly frightening characters encountered on ‘Narrow Stairs’. These darker characters exist in an atmosphere cemented by a blockier, slower sound overall, making for a curiously compelling listen. It would be foolish to pretend that this album is a first-listen-hit. Only after a few listens does it begin to do itself justice, although a couple of forgettable tracks (‘No Sunlight’ and ‘Long Division’) do linger limply between the folds of the more tempestuous, striking ones.

The first single, ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’ , sets the tone for the rest of the album - although at 8 minutes it is by far the longest. In my opinion, this song is nothing short of majestic. The 4 minute 30 second instrumental introduction lulls the listener into a secure sense of anticipation, lead confidently by a driving bass line, before Gibbard’s clear high-tenor vocals lay out the uncomfortable thoughts of a stalker’s obsession: “There are days when outside your window, I see my reflection as I slowly pass/And I long for this mirrored perspective, when we’ll be lovers, lovers at last.” The whole song is beautiful and disturbing, a description which could easily be applied to the entire album.

The band’s guitarist and producer, Chris Walla, remarked during the recording process that ‘Narrow Stairs’ was shaping up to be much more dissonant and abrasive than previous records. Indeed, it hardly allows time for the drawing of breath between tracks, with barely a second between the end of the last and the start of the next. This, combined with the fact it was recorded on cassette tape, with little-to-no overdubs, is effective in building a captivating relationship with the listener.

The sixth track, ‘You Can Do Better Than Me’, is a gratefully received 2 minutes of upbeat marching-band rhythm, despite being topped with elegant lyrics that express the dispirited acceptance of a troubled relationship. The bright rhythm and nostalgic lyrics are reminiscent of previous records, and it is moments like this that act as audio reminders that they are still the same band but with a braver face.

The album closes poignantly with the slow, uncluttered ‘Ice Is Getting Thinner’. With only a crisply distorted guitar for support, the first line of Gibbard’s lyrics are (coincidentally?) fitting for the band’s position and might well act as a message to the listener. “We’re not the same, dear, as we used to be.”

One of the most impressive things about this album, apart from being evidence that the band are willing and eager to push their sound to disorienting boundaries, is that they are clearly playing for themselves and have stopped, at least for this record, trying to be all things to all fans.

‘Narrow Stairs’, like ‘Plans’ and ‘Transatlanticism’ before it, goes on to seal the band’s innovative reputation and could easily prove to be a seminal record for Death Cab – perhaps enabling them to make the leap from one of indie’s elite to one of America’s best.

For fans of: Beirut, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird
Band link = Death Cab For Cutie

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