Hello everyone and welcome to another beautiful/drenched in rain Wednesday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today we have, for our beloved readers, the highly anticipated review of the new Death Cab For Cutie album Narrow Stairs. So, prepare yourself for a soon-to-be legendary record review, courtesy of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice.
First, a little bit of information about the band: Death Cab For Cutie is a pop band from Bellingham, Washington. They were formed in 1997 by Ben Gibbard (originally started as a solo outlet) but when Mr.Gibbard scored a record deal, following the album You Can Play These Songs With Chords, he decided to recruit band members. That's basically the story of Death Cab For Cutie, in all it's glory. Oh, and by the way, the name Death Cab For Cutie comes from the song of the same name by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (This song was prominently featured in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour).
Now, the record: Narrow Stairs definitely serves as a departure from quite a bit of things that we've all come to associate with Death Cab For Cutie. There are many things that remain though, for example, the superb lyrical quality (via Ben Gibbard) and the stellar instrumentals (via the entire band). These aspects of the record, of the entire band, allow the music to venture to new places, while still remaining altogether familiar and comforting.
There were, for myself, three stand-out tracks from the album. The first track is I Will Possess Your Heart, which was released as a single on March 18th. This track, which has been discussed feverishly in music blogs the world over, is very different type of song for Death Cab. Long and "jammy", tense and spacey, these words can all be used to describe this song. What really is facsinating about this song, though, is the fact that the lyrics don't come in for a good 4 and a half minutes. For those of you who haven't listened to Death Cab for, you may be thinking this is not a big deal, you may be thinking that many bands put out 8 and a half minute tracks that are half instrumental. Death Cab however, does not do these things. That is, until now. The other two stand-out tracks are No Sunlight, and Your New Twin Sized Bed. Both of these tracks are very different, and instead of describing them both, I think it's better that you listen to them.
So, give these three songs a listen, buy the album, and let me know what you think.
Your New Twin Sized Bed - Death Cab For Cutie
No Sunlight - Death Cab For Cutie
I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie
Til' Tomorrow
