The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.
Here are some albums being released tomorrow. Let us know which one’s you’ll be picking up.
Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Showbread – Anorexia / Nervosa
Cinematic Sunrise – A Coloring Storybook And Long-Playing Record EP
Stick To Your Guns – Comes From The Heart
Set Your Goals – Mutiny!: Deluxe Edition
Moneen – It All Started With A Red Stripe DVD
Between The Trees – The Story And The Song (Reissue)
Emmure – The Respect Issue
Artist: Death Cab for Cutie
Album: Narrow Stairs
Label: Atlantic
Purchase: Atlantic Records store
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 10.0
Excuse me while I write a quick, informal letter to the great city of Seattle.
Dear Seattle,
You reside in Washington, yes, but I feel as if you’re right next door”¦Seattle, Alabama perhaps? If living in Seattle feels anything at all like listening to a Death Cab for Cutie album (plus rain, a severely underrated form of precipitation and my personal favorite), then I’ll visit often and willingly cry strong, nostalgic tears of pain on the plane rides home.
Love,
-Trace
With principal songwriter Ben Gibbard, you’re always assured an atmosphere all its own ““ be it a supposed Seattle, the winter season in general, or, in the case of Narrow Stairs, the lyrical world of Ben Gibbard’s mind.
The atmosphere begins immediately with “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” featuring Gibbard’s voice, almost alone, crawling from silence and steadily inviting guitars, drums, and bass along for the build. Guitarist Chris Walla’s production here is in top form, a feat no doubt helped by his accomplished work producing past Death Cab albums and others (notably, Tegan and Sara’s The Con). Walla gives each song a little room to breathe, but also plenty of space to scream. Death Cab for Cutie even manages to eclipse the seeming inevitability of pompousness with the nearly nine minute length of first single “I Will Possess Your Heart” by simply pulling it off without question, a confidence few bands allow for themselves.
There are really no missteps here at all, but something hidden underneath the songwriting keeps Narrow Stairs from being an inarguably great album. Ben Gibbard is a confident lyricist in a band confidently embracing the future of their sound, but he seems to get a bit lost in the “Death Cab-ness” of his songs, never fully graduating from “very, very good” to great. Perhaps Seattle’s response to my theoretical love letter will come in the form of Death Cab for Cutie’s first truly great album. Naturally, I hope it’s raining that day.
Track Listing
1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. I Will Possess Your Heart
3. No Sunlight
4. Cath …
5. Talking Bird
6. You Can Do Better Than Me
7. Grapevine Fires
8. Your New Twin Sized Bed
9. Long Division
10. Pity And Fear
11. The Ice Is Getting Thinner
A video documentary of Death Cab for Cutie can be seen below. The video “Open Windows” shows the band recording their new album, Narrow Stairs.
Death Cab For Cutie are streaming a new song titled “Cath…” here. The bands new album, Narrow Stairs, is due out May 13th.
Death Cab For Cutie are streaming their new single “I Will Possess Your Heart” on their MySpace page. The song is off the bands upcoming new album, Narrow Stairs, due out May 13th.
Death Cab have also confirmed some new tour dates:
FRI 5/9 Providence, RI @ Providence Piers (Tickets on sale at 12pm on March 20th)
SAT 5/10 Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavillion (Tickets on sale at 10am on March 22nd)
SAT 5/24 Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater w/ The Decemberists (Tickets on sale now)
WED 5/28 Morrison, OR @ Red Rocks Amphitheater w/ Rogue Wave (Tickets on sale on March 21st, Special fanclub pre-sale at 3pm on March 19th)
SUN 7/27 Pemberton, BC @ Pemberton, BC w/ Jay-Z and Coldplay (Tickets on sale on March 28th)
Death Cab For Cutie have announced the titled to their third studio album, Narrow Stairs. The band will release the album sometime in 2008.
Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie has a role in the big-screen adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s short story collection Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, directed by John Krasinski, aka Jim from the American version of “The Office”.
Guitarist Chris Walla is working on his solo album and producing Tegan and Sara‘s next record, on which DCFC drummer Jason McGerr also plays. Bassist Nick Harmer is working with director Aaron Stewart-Ahn on a Decemberists video.
Death Cab plans to spend the rest of the year taking a break from touring or releasing new music. The band “will begin recording their next record towards the end of the year.”
PunkRockVids have posted Death Cab For Cutie’s performance on Leno last night, you can check out Ben Gibbard performing “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”, on PRV’s Myspace page.
PunkRockVids have posted some new videos from Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday, Death Cab For Cutie and more. Check them out here.