Death Cab For Cutie has a new album. It’s called Narrow Stairs, and if you haven’t read the articles, then you may not know that it’s “bloody and loose” and more “hard rock” than any of their previous work. Or maybe you have no clue that guitarist Chris Walla is back as producer, and from there, the album was recorded on analog tape to minimize overdubs. These are the token details we’ve been given.
2005’s Plans, the band’s first major label release, is high-profile studio work – sparkling and calculated. Being the epitome of commercially viable indie rock and a band that’s proved themselves capable of making literate music in the face of popularity, the release of Narrow Stairs isn’t about doubt; it’s about questions. Like, how will the band live up to darling Transatlanticism? Or will Narrow Stairs come close to the ability of Plan’s platinum success? Will Ben Gibbard top his past lyric and vocal work? If the analog Narrow Stairsprocess really was “bloody and loose”, will we even notice, or was it more for their own well-being? Death Cab’s art pop as hard rock? Wait, really?
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