Narrow Stairs

Trash.
Unremarkable, forgettable garbage.
Never has going through the motions been so adeptly portrayed in song.
There is not a single worthwhile composition, suggesting that, like many who get doused with popularity, the band doesn't have the artistic wherewithal to keep a record label from dictating every melodic sweep and gesture with the twitch of a wrist.
I tried valiantly to stick with Death Cab through the stilted, meta-production of Plans and the meadering dissonance of Transatlanticism.
But it is now official that the band has been permanently led astray from the mystical, albeit morose, ingenuity that engendered "Something About Airplanes."
Though it saddens me, I cannot follow Gibbard into the dark.
If anyone has an address for the band, let me know. I'd like to return my copy to sender.

This CD is pretty typical of Death Cab. It's not really anything out of the ordinary, but every song is great. It's one of those CDs you just keep in the car and listen to forever and always find a song that was a hidden favorite.

I'll start by explaining that I'm not a huge fan of Death Cab for Cutie and that this was the first CD I've purchased from them. So take that into account when you read this. Judging by the fairly positive response this CD's gotten here so far I'll assume this CD's par for the course for this band, but I found it incredibly boring. One low to mid-tempo track follows another for the entire CD...they all sound the same, they all lack any sort of hook, and all lack any excitement whatsoever. It's the type of CD where after listening for a while you'll forget you even had it on.

Soul Meets Body was easily one of the best songs I'd ever heard, and yet still I didn't buy Plans, the CD that was on. Determined not to make that mistake again, I checked out this CD, Narrow Stairs, after LIKING (but not loving) the single I Will Possess Your Heart (the long intro's really the only thing that makes the song stand out)...unfortunately, even that "good" song isn't matched by anything else on this CD.

The only tolerable songs on it were, of course, the 1st single I Will Possess Your Heart (what a surprise that it's much faster and more melodic than...anything else on the CD) Bixby Canyon Bridge (incredibly annoying outro aside,) and Your New Twin Sized Bed. That's it. After several listens those are the only songs that stood out in any way for me, those are the only ones that seem to do anything but drone on and on.

Obviously if you're a fan of this band you should know what to expect. New listeners who haven't owned one of Death Cab's CD's before should be warned, however. Personally, I'm getting tired of bands creating very misleading 1st singles that sound nothing like the rest of the CD...it's CD's like Narrow Stairs that explain why so many people today illegally download music.

This is by far the best album Death Cab has ever released. Going back to their roots and sounding more like We Have the Facts... than Plans, it opens up with the beautifully paced Bixby Canyon Bridge and proceeds into the eerily creepy single I Will Possess Your Heart; a song I didn't like at first listen, but grew on me very soon after. I agree with another reviewer that these 2 songs alone are worth the purchase, but the brilliantness continues. The album proceeds with more upbeat, poppy stuff (not a bad thing) like No Sunlight and Your New Twin Sized Bed, but I think it really shines the most with the slower-paced stuff like Talking Bird, Grapevine Fires, and Cath. It basically has something for everyone, the new fans who think this is the 2nd album Death Cab's put out, and us old folks who have been listening since the dawn of the millennium. This is a fantastic thing, as it helps keep the fanbase diverse, growing, learning and opening them up to different sounds. I really believe it's the best album they've released.

"Narrow Stairs" doesn't exactly sound like an album that would proceed DCFC's last album "Plans", but strangely it does, and after a few close listens you'll know why it does. The sound is experimental for sure, but at the same time it does not stray as far from the DCFC signature style of music heard in previous albums as some critics here would make it seem... I would however agree with those critics who say this album is alot darker and depressing than DCFC's other records, which may (understandably) turn some people off. But! if you like their sad dreamy sounding stuff, then "Narrow Stairs" will probably be your fix, and will definitely become one of your favorite DCFC albums... It's certainly become one of mine!