Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Band Members
Ben Gibbard
Nick Harmer
Jason McGerr
Chris Walla

DeathCabForCutie.com
Myspace.com/DeathCabForCutie



Tracklisting
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


Beloved indie alternative act, Death Cab for Cutie, returns with their first ever US number one album and yet still retain their underdog status and self image as they break into mainstream sub-conscious with ‘Narrow Stairs’. With elegant melodies and lovingly composed lyrics each tracks beats with a soul of their own and shimmers out of the speakers of their own accord. Immediate stand out track is ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’ standing at 8 minutes and 35 seconds it builds to a point of anticipation that when the vocals kick in at over 4 and half minutes into the song it is more of a relief to the mounting pressure and you fall back into the melody with a peaceful surrender.

The haunting tones of the music not only possess’ your heart but your ears and mind too and tracks like ‘No Sunlight’ and ‘Long Division’ free you again to dance and bop side to side in a happy shuffle. Death Cab for Cutie are the band should be bigger than their actually are but if they ever made it as big as some other acts in their field such as the Snow Patrol’s, Razorlight’s and The Kooks it could very well destroy who their are as a band. It is not to say these bands are not good in their selected genre but Death Cab naturally fit as a band that is popular in their anonymity and something special to enjoy in the domain of your MP3 playlist; sharing with the select few you know will love them as much as they deserved to be loved.

Having heard most of Death Cab’s past work this is a wonderful introduction to their particular brand of indie rock and a pleasant introduction to make you want to seek out more. They are set to be one of the few successful bands of this generation that could potential never make it to “the big time” which I’d be more than happy with; if they did they wouldn’t be the band I loved anymore and they wouldn’t be Death Cab for Cutie. More suggested listens from their back catalogue would be ‘The Photo Album’ as well as lead singer Ben Gibbard’s side project band ‘The Postal Service’ for further purchases.


Review by Laura Heath


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