Narrow Stairs

Death Cab for Cutie comes charging back with another outstanding album! Every song on this album catches you everytime you listen! DCFC really knows how to capture their audience with several moving pieces to this great puzzle they are putting together! There is something for everyone here and it doesn't disapoint! Don't hesitate to buy this album. You'll only be disappointed if you don't!

This album is different from any other DCFC album, but it still deserves five stars. I agree with another reviewer that the songs on the album do not sound repetative. Each song has a unique sound, but somehow the album works as complete work of art. The songs are different from each other, but they also compliment each other, which results in a nice transition between tracks. I really respect the band for releasing I Will Possess Your Heart as the first single. That was a bold move. I love this band.

Death Cab for Cutie, at exactly one month ago on May 12, 2008 released their newest album Narrow Stairs which within the course of this last month has peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Charts.

The album marks a significant departure from the older strictly indie recordings of 'Something about Airplanes', and 'We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes,' but also is a mature step forward for them since their recent 2002, 2005 releases of 'Transatlanticism', and 'Plans'(respectively.)

Death Cab For Cutie, was originally out of Western Washington Universtiy up in Bellingham, WA, where both myself and the lead singer of my band met as well. DCFC are Ben Gibbard (the lead singer/guitarist), Chris Walla (guitar/producer), Nicholas Harmer (bass guitar) and Jason McGerr (drums).

The main thing that gripped me throughout researching and reviewing their newest album, was Ben Gibbard's lyrics and his inspirations. In an article which Ben Gibbard wrote for Paste Magazine (Apr 10, 2008, Issue 42), he describes his experience with Narrow Stairs as: "The first line of the first song I wrote here is, 'I descended a dusty gravel ridge'--it's like the whole album is a descent." Even the albums producer and lead guitarist, Christopher Walla described the album as 'weird, creepy and with lots of blood.' Gibbards lyrics and the general vibe of the album reflects these darker descriptions.

In this past month, many critics have pointed out that Gibbard's song writing in Narrow Stairs is more simplistic and direct, and thus less profound as his previous lyrics. Ben Gibbard on his new revised writing style described that there is, "no need to veil what's happening in the song the way I used to." Instead of making the lyrics even more dense and convoluted, which can come off as being snobbish and esoteric, Gibbard as opted out to more genuinely communicate his songs to his audience. Personally I agree with Gibbards decision, and can appreciate the level of honesty he now wants to exhibit in his writing.

From Bixby Canyon Bridge (with Gibbard opening the album with his personal relections on Jack Kerouac and his stay at Big Sur, CA); the album almost moves like a dark stream of consciousness in the style of a Kerouac beat poem as Gibbard recalls and expounds on topics such as loss of innocence and disillusionment (No Sunlight, Your New Twin Sized Bed, The Ice is Getting Thinner); the inevitability of death and how we cope with it(Cath..., Grapevine Fires, You Can Do Better Than Me), and other topics ranging from love and obsession(I will Possess Your Heart, Long Division, Pity & Fear), to feelings of inadequency (Talking Bird.) Gibbard tackles a wide array of issues and delivers to his audience a clear thoughtful, yet always somber voice.

The music itself is a wonderful counterpart to Gibbards reflections on his broken idealism- even as the lyrics are dark, the music is driving, and somewhat upbeat (in DCFC typical fashion). Strangely enough, DCFC also gets experimental with tracks such as I Will Possess Your Heart (an 8 minute long song, with 5 minutes of constant instrumental buildup); the Eastern sounding Pity and Fear, and the exhuberant fanfare of You Can Do Better Than Me. Even though the experimental tracks are new and some first time listeners may appreciate the branching out, the new tracks are very risky. Personally 'You Can Do Better Than Me' served as a great transistional song from the ponderously slow 'Talking Bird' to the bitter-sweet reflections of 'Grapevine Fires,' however 'You Can Do Better Than Me' is a weak stand alone song. Furthermore, the first single which DCFC released in promotion of the album was I Will Possess Your Heart, which in my opinion was a bad decision. Even though the flow of the song reflects the absurdity of obessessive love, with 5 minutes of continual monotony with the same D chord over and over, it is a pretty weak single, and also a poor song to have be the second track on the album. Perhaps if the track was placed later on during the album such as the epic "Transatlanticism" on their 2002 release, it might have had more of an impact for me and for the cohesion of the album in its entirety.

Overall as an album, it lacks the cohesive presentation of Transatlanticism, however continues the momentum which the band has been gathering over the years with their major label releases. Narrow Stairs is a good music album, but an even better look at the inner workings of Ben Gibbard. To be honest, I am pleased to see that this album has reached the No.1 slot of the Top 200 Billboard, it gives DCFC more worldwide recognition which they deserve, but it is strange that this would be the album to get them there.

-Andrew D.B. Joslyn
Music Musings - http://dbjoslyn.blogspot.com/

What can you say about DCFC? When ears beyond Bellingham caught on to their sound, they quickly became the darlings of the indie world. A string of solid releases while on mini-label, Barsuk Records, was enough to solidify their status as the best little band in America.

Then Atlantic Records came a'-calling. No one can blame DCFC for wanting a little financial stability or the chance to reach a larger audience. Plans was ushered in as their debut release with the mega-label, helping them cultivate a whole swath of new fans. Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, their old fans - the ones who liked their Barsuk material - were left waiting at the velvet rope while their new fans - the ones who TiVo The O.C., C.S.I. Miami and Six Feet Under - got VIP passes to the fabulous new world of surgically coiffed pop music. Tragically, history has taught us that bands who sign with major labels eventually find themselves caving in to the suits who sign their advance checks. As more time passes, their music becomes further diluted, pandering to the lowest common denominator in an attempt to meet sales and revenue targets. As such, logic dictated that Narrow Stairs would be the next step in DCFC's inexorable journey to the middle. Logic, shmogic.

While Narrow Stairs, is far from being their best work, it represents what appears to be a conscious attempt at retreating from the mid-pointed trajectory Plans had them plotting. Listening to it - particularly the first series of tracks - had me imagining the facial expressions of the Atlantic suits at their first listen; most likely dumbstruck, nervous and confused. This is no studio paint-by-numbers pop album. And while the second act does fall a little flat - at least musically, if not lyrically - there are moments in Narrow Stairs that find Death Cab at their best; exceptional musicianship, complimented by Ben Gibbard's flesh-and-bone lyrics.

In the end, as DCFC stood on the precipice of becoming "America's Coldplay", Narrow Stairs may have restored some faith in this little band. The new fans from Plans might find themselves a little confused, but that's just fine. Let's just hope, for Death Cab's sake, it's OK with the suits at Atlantic Records too.

For some reason that I can't really place, I was not all that hyped for "Narrow Stairs", the latest LP from Death Cab for Cutie.
This is not because I did not like "Plans". I loved side one of that record, or what would have been side one in the olden days. And though the second half of the record was fairly weak, it still was not the type of record that would cause one to completely write off a band.
Maybe it was the lead single from this album, the eight minute long "I Will Possess Your Heart", a slow build of a song that never quite finds it's melody or intention.
Either way, I have just now, a month and a half after it's release gotten around to picking up "Narrow Stairs", and I have to say that I am truly happy that I did, as it is a very strong record.
All the press that was circulating for this album before it's release commented on how this was the darkest Death Cab record yet, and though there is some truth to that, one really shouldn't expect a Bauhaus record here. On the contrary, to counteract Ben Gibbard's downbeat lyrical stance this time, the band has created some of their brightest melodies yet. "You Can Do Better Than Me", a brief song just under two minutes, sounds like an outtake from "Pet Sounds" with it's careful studio tricks and bell percussion. "No Sunlight", a terrific song about the death of an optimist, bounces along to a New Wave bass line and powerful drum beat. "Cath", the records stand out track, Gibbard sings about a girl on her wedding day feeling as though she is making a mistake, while the band backs him up with a startlingly pretty guitar track, on of the best that the band has ever come up with, that feels shoegazer without the accompanying self doubt.
Musically and production wise, in fact, this is one of Death Cab's stronger records to date I think. Multi-instrumentalist/ producer Chris Walla wraps the songs in a sound that mixes overdubs and the sound of a live band bashing a record out in their basement in equal measure, and the band turn in some of their most passionate performances to date.
The one thing that keeps this record from being great, in my opinion, though is Gibbard's lyrics. Though a few songs are terrific ("I Will Possess Your Heart", which sounds far better on record than it did as a single, and "Cath"), most feel pasted together and written on the fly, following the same stories and characters that Gibbard has sung about in the past, but with no new view points or perspective. And am I the only one who find "The Ice Is Getting Thinner" a little laughable?
But the shortcomings of the lyrics are a small qualm when the music is as strong and well written as it is here. "Narrow Stairs" is not Death Cab's best record, but it is better than the scatter shot "Plans", and a more than worthy addition to their staggeringly strong catalong of albums.