Weekly > Reviews
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
As I’ve said in my recent single review, Death Cab For Cutie had really passed me completely by until I got sent the Plans album to review. Up until that point I’d heard the name mentioned and knew about The Postal Service connection, but rightly or wrongly I’d presumed they’d be Emo.
I was definitely wrong having listened to Plans and then had that confirmed when I went to see them live at Leeds University, it’s not an easy venue to sound good in and it’s not always the best atmosphere wise but they put on a really good show and we went away pretty impressed by them.
At that point I really had intended to check out some of their other back catalogue, shamefully I haven’t but my mitigating circumstances would be that I get so many bands coming in and out of my life running this website, that with the best of intentions I sometimes forget to follow up on my own promises to myself!
I was though delighted when the new album by the group landed on my doormat last week, ok that’s not technically true, a package which contained the album landed on my door mat. The Royal Mail are bad enough with things that are packed and addressed without just putting a CD randomly in the post.
Listening to Narrow Stairs over the last few days I’ve come to a couple of conclusions, which again may or may not be right, but I’m going to foist them on you anyway!
Firstly it’s a less commercial album than Plans, the tracks kind of run into each other without any real noticeable gaps between, which I do actually quite like. The other indicator of this is that some of the tracks have quite long instrumental sections. Bixby Canyon Bridge plays out the last minute or two with sonic guitars and the recent single I Will Possess Your Heart is extended so that the first few minutes are instrumental.
The second conclusion I can draw from this album is that I’m guessing that after the sales and success of the last album, it’s given them a degree of freedom and confidence to make the album they’ve really always wanted to.
- Death Cab For Cutie
- Narrow Stairs (2008)
- Category: Album
- Label: Warner Music
- Reviewed by: Kev
- Published on: 19 May 2008
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesThey do confidently change styles throughout the album, Talking Bird is a brilliantly understated lo-fii track, while No Sunlight starts off slow and then comes crashing in. Your New Twin Sized Bed is probably my favourite song on the album, it really taps into the emotion of the lyrics as he sings “You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed with a single pillow underneath your single head”.
I really hope that the band have a lot of success with this record, it might not generate any hit singles, but it’s a bloody good album and one that I’ll be pulling out to play time and time again…and I really must look at that back catalogue stuff!
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