Death Cab for Cutie / "Narrow Stairs"

Death Cab for Cutie are a true indie rock success story. Starting small on the then-unknown Washington-based Barsuk label, they released the charming and excellent "Something About Airplanes". In the time after, they released two good, but not great, albums until everything with the band clicked. They got the famous Seth seal-of-approval on "The O.C." and dropped what was arguably the best album of their career, "Transatlanticism". In its wake followed lead singer Ben Gibbard's successful side project with Dntel, Postal Service, and a major-label record deal. Their first record with Atlantic, "Plans", sold over one million copies and established that Death Cab weren't just a band with hype, they were legitimate stars.

But ignored in all the fan elation over Death Cab is that "Plans" wasn't a very good album, it just happened to have two great singles tied to it: "Soul Meets Body" and "I Will Follow You Into the Dark". Now Death Cab for Cutie has released major-label album #2, an album Death Cab's producer and guitarist Chris Walla described as "really weird. It's really, really good, I think, but it's totally a curve ball, and I think it's gonna be a really polarizing record. But I'm really excited about it. It's really got some teeth." But fear not, instead of an avant-garde challenge, it's a much more consistent and engrossing affair than "Plans", and one of the group's best albums.

Album opener "Bixby Canyon Bridge" has strong melody, excellent execution, and Ben Gibbard offering a solid vocal outing. As it fades into static while Gibbard sings he was "no closer to any kind of truth, as I assume was the case with you," it bleeds into lead single "I Will Possess Your Heart". The full 8-minute track is a thing of beauty. It builds and builds guitars and drums until the 4:30 mark before settling to let Gibbard start his story of a stalker. Coming across as both creepy and endearing, it is the most impressive track on the album. "No Sunlight" is a fun little pop tune, but sounds even less impressive following "I Will Possess Your Heart". "Cath...", on the other hand, sees the band returning to full form. It's a classic Death Cab song: rich tunefulness, Gibbard's vocals at his best, emotional and personal lyrics. "Talking Bird" follows and despite showing signs of potential, it never really takes off. It's a disappointing, but hardly failing, track.

It's followed by the mediocre sing-along "You Can Do Better Than Me". The track fails to either reach the two-minute mark or impress the listener. Just when I was becoming concerned the album was falling off, Death Cab drops three straight solid tracks in "Grapevine Fires", "Your New Twin Sized Bed", and "Long Division". However, all three pale in comparison to the album's late highlight "Pity and Fear". Over bongo drums and electric guitar, the song begins slowly before turning into a wonderful straightforward rocker. Album closer "The Ice is Getting Thinner" is true to its name, moving along glacially while never boring the listener, in particular due to strong lyrics such as "we bury our love in the wintery grave". It's a great closing track, even if it doesn't stand on its own as well as some of the album's earlier tracks.

"Narrow Stairs" is hardly revelatory, but it's much better than I anticipated. It's an album the fans of the band since "Something About Airplanes" and the fans of the band since "Soul Meets Body" can equally appreciate. I wouldn't be surprised if this album goes on to outsell "Plans" and further Death Cab's reputation as arguably the most famous "indie" band working today. Congratulations Ben Gibbard, you've got me back on your bandwagon.

Rating: 8.3