indy cd & vinyl

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE—Narrow Stairs

Death Cab For Cutie’s 2nd major-label album (and seventh overall, give or take a few EPs) is yet another superb introduction to their blissful, melodic take on rock and pop. Full of summery, yet melancholy, tunes, Narrow Stairs does stretch their boundaries somewhat, particularly on the joint opening of “Bixby Canyon Bridge” and “I Will Possess Your Heart”. The arrangement of these two songs departs from the band’s usual format. Starting with a simple bass and drums pattern, piano chords, and a wash of “ambient” guitars, the song swells and swells instrumentally for almost 4 ½ minutes before Ben Gibbard’s vocals crash in with a beautiful melody, that is then followed by deadly chorus hook, all topped off with a sublime middle-eight section. From this point on, their usual surfeit of summery, wistful tunes takes hold, with “Pity and Fear” also drawing on a Peter Gabriel style riff. While there are not many other radical departures for the group here, the strength of all the songs, combined with just enough new touches, easily puts Narrow Stairs into a league equaling the best of their previous work. And with the outstanding catalog of this group, that is plenty good enough.