Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs - Atlantic - 2008

One of the big releases this year is Death Cab’s follow up to 2005’s record “Plans“, which just came out this week. The blog reaction and reviews to this album have been extremely positive, but I think a lot of them paint this record in an inaccurate light. A lot of reviews refer to walls of feedback and edgy guitars, and I really just don’t see that here. This is not a Sonic Youth record, it is still a Death Cab record. It seems there was a lot of negative backlash against “Plans” and songs like “Soul Meets Body”, even though I think it was their most popular record to date and certainly the most instantly accessible. Sonically they certainly have taken a bit of a different direction here than with the last record, as the long soft piano jams like “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” are not to be found here. The songs take on a more straightforward rock song kind of approach (at least relative to prior Death Cab) and eschew the slow jams for more uptempo numbers. The result here kind of hits and misses occasionally, and really at times is extremely catchy, but at times completely smacks of a concerted effort to get away from “Plans“. The album is certainly very good, but is definitely a more wandering affair musically speaking than prior efforts. I think because of this a lot of people who completely fell in love with “Plans” will probably be initially turned off by this record. As you listen more to it though, the tone and songwriting has not really changed that much I think, and you have still got an extremely solid Death Cab record.

For me, the last record was incredibly catchy with great songs, but really didn’t have much lasting power. In the long run it was kind of forgettable. It never really kept you listening or coming back for more. I think this album has more depth to it in that sense. There is more musical exploration going on here, and with the more varied direction that the songs take, it keeps you more interested than the last album did. The side-effect of meandering around more on the record though is that huge fans of the last album will not find an instant single type of song to latch on to here, and will not find an instant appeal from a lot of the songs on this album. None of the songs initially grab you outside of the rest of the album. But I think that is more to the strength of the album as a whole rather than the songs themselves. That isn’t to say it is a deftly constructed album as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The songs are largely on their own here, but that is really how these work best I think.

I don’t think that this is a reinvention of their sound by any stretch, but it is a very good step in a more flavorful and fruitful direction than previous efforts. It has its off moments where the new direction seems to not agree with what they are trying to accomplish musically, but largely it works. It is also somewhat risky in that the last album they brought together the soft sweet melodies together very well and it will remain to be seen if making such a concerted effort to leave behind your prior success will pay off for them with the fans. This album seems like it could alienate some of their fans in the name of critical acclaim, especially fans who jumped on board when “Plans” was released. So far, the album is quality, although not quite a home run, it certainly is a more interesting turn for them. But even with their effort to get away from the sound of “Plans“, it is still at its heart a Death Cab record and in truth does not really stray too far from the flock. I would say the results are good, but not great, but also with great potential for future endeavors.

You can stream the album in its entirety here.

Death Cab For Cutie - Your New Twin Sized Bed - From Narrow Stairs