Death Cab's Narrow Stairs - a premature review
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I cheated and was able to acquire Death Cab For Cutie’s new album Narrow Stairs a week in advance. I had already pre-ordered this on iTunes (for the free tracks) and I’ll be venturing into my local record store to pick up a real copy and get the free DCFC pint glass that comes with it a week from today. However, I wanted a preview of what I will be hearing this Saturday when DCFC plays in Boston. Upon reading the initial reviews of Death Cab For Cutie's new album, Narrow Stairs, I made a deal with myself. To take an unbiased approach to my sentiment towards this album. Unshockingly to hear for anyone who follows my MOG posts (Population: 2), Death Cab is my favorite band, though depending upon the day, others (the Roots, MMJ & the Decemberists) might give them a run for their money. Therefore, an unbiased review for this album was going to be tough for me, especially when MTV was calling it DCFC's OK Computer, the album that would finally recognize them as a "great band" (when were they not??). Then Rolling Stone reviewed and gave the album the 4-star treatment. Moggers also came out in full force to praise the band for their first single and video for “I Will Possess Your Heart.” Due to all of this, for a person that is convinced that Ben Gibbard has the Midas touch, someone who would buy a full-length EP of his April Fool’s joke-album for Just Jazzin’ if it ever actually became a reality, my expectations could not have been higher, though I tried my best to keep them grounded.I'll be completely honest, I am thusfar not blown away by Narrow Stairs and every review I've heard says this is such a huge step forward for them, but I'm not hearing it. At least not at that high of a level, because by no means is it a bad album, but one guy compared this album to OK Computer... umm... not so much. I am not an absolutely enormous Radiohead fan, and in fact, [please sit down before I write this] for me, The Bends gets more play than OK Computer, but I do recognize OK Computer being a classic, and it did move Radiohead into a new echelon of artistry. I guess it remains to be seen with this album and how it affects DCFC, but... I don't see it happening. And that's perfectly fine, seriously. I just wish people wouldn't get so goddamn carried away sometimes (and yes, I recognize the irony in that statement because I have over-hyped this album on my own as well).I wrote the paragraph above this one as I was wrapping up the first 5 tracks of the new album, 3 of which I had already heard in some form ("I Will Possess Your Heart" being the only one in album-form). So the other 2 tracks, the opener "Bixby Canyon Bridge," and "No Sunlight" were the only 2 songs that I was not prepared for, and they did not entirely knock my socks off. I was waiting for the equivalent to "Karma Police" and "Let Down." According to David Bazan, lead singer of Pedro The Lion and good friend of DCFC's Ben Gibbard, "Let Down" is the greatest song of all time. There is no possible way to measure these types of things, so that might be a reach, but you get the point. None of the first 5 tracks would be considered for the category of "greatest song of all time," though “Cath…” sure sounds good in every version I have heard thusfar. Which is unlike the album version of “The Ice Is Getting Thinner,” as I actually prefer the version Gibbard played during his solo show last spring on piano to the album version. At this point you probably think I’m giving this album a thumbs-down. I am not. Not even close. The album is very, very good from top to bottom. There isn’t a bad song on the whole thing. However, the album has less of an edge than I was hoping for. The band definitely takes some chances here and there, and they don’t follow any specific patterns, but where people have seemed to have said that DCFC’s past albums sounded similar or were relatively hesitant to explore new territory, I have completed disagreed. The band has progressed and no two of their albums really sound the same. DCFC has always taken chances in my opinion. This album is no different. Though I can hear “influences” from past songs within the songs on Narrow Stairs, this album is certainly different than anything they have done in the past. Their last album, Plans, was an instant hit for me, and maybe that is why I’m having a hard time getting used to this. However, more often than not, unless I absolutely hate an album, it is the ones that take a bit to wear on me that I end up truly loving. Like the way I felt about “I Will Possess Your Heart,” it takes a few listens of this album to have it really set in and notice the intricacies, the details that Death Cab For Cutie has poured into it. When those details are revealed is when the appreciation for the song or album is fully reached. In time, I am certain that this album will grow to be one of my personal favorites from this group, however, right now the sum is not greater than its parts. I will repeat that by no means do I feel this is even close to a poor effort by Death Cab, I am just giving a subtle warning to all that bought into the hype, such as myself, that this was going to be the flagship album of this band. I do not think it is or will be. I think Death Cab For Cutie has bigger things in their future, but this album certainly adds more credibility to their catalogue and is a worthy purchase by even their most casual of fans.The album opens up with “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” a tribute to the Big Sur landmark that Gibbard spent time with to help find the words for Narrow Stairs, and grow closer to his idol Jack Kerouac. “I want to know my fate, if I keep up this way…” Gibbard sings as the musical accompaniment begins to grow more intense. As if it needed to.“I Will Possess Your Heart” is then followed by “No Sunlight,” which, as you’d imagine, is a song with rather dark lyrics, but a surprisingly light-hearted feel to it. “With every year that came to pass, more clouds appeared… till the sky went black.” I think the only way to talk people off the ledge after hearing words like this would be to accompany them with very catchy music. Mission accomplished.One of the highlights of the album is up next, “Cath…” which is one of the downloadable songs from DCFC’s visit to the Daytrotter studio, along with “Talking Bird,” the 5th song on the album. “Cath…” features an incredible drum performance by Jason McGerr and I really am looking forward to seeing/hearing this song performed live. “Talking Bird” is one of the slowest-paced songs on the album, and gives off vibes of a person trapped by their own decisions. I had also heard this song via Daytrotter and I wasn’t enamored by it then, but I can definitely see this song growing on me in the near future, however, upon the first couple listens it’s not a song that I will seek out on my iPod to kick off a playlist.“You Can Do Better Than Me,” is the first song that really got me on the album. At a quick 1:59, the song is brief, but effectively breathed new life into the album upon my first listen. And it provided the perfect segue into my (and unfortunately Rolling Stone’s) favorite track off the album, “Grapevine Fires.” “I couldn’t think of any place I would have rather been to watch it all burn away…”“Your New Twin Sized Bed” features more heart-breaking lyricism, as it has Gibbard singing about someone who replaced a queen-sized bed with a twin-size as suddenly they have no need for the extra sleep space. “Long Division” is the wild-card on this album for me. With a fast-paced, up-tempo beat that features some synth that I normally don’t take a liking to, I must say that this song is wearing on me faster than a couple of the others. “Pity and Fear” with its tribal beat is as intense as the song title. It builds you up only to take you down on the final song of the album, the aforementioned “The Ice Is Getting Thinner.” When it was first rumored that this song would be on the album, after Gibbard played this in his solo tour last spring, it was supposed to be Narrow Stairs’ answer to “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.” As morbid as it was, “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” was actually a positive song, about undying loyalty and dedication to a loved one. “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” is the opposite. This song is about inevitable failure, and the urge to give up in the face of it. Musically it is more like “Stability” than “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.” All things considered, I would give this album a solid B+ with the potential for improvement to that grade over time. Shame on me, I know… I never thought I would give a DCFC album anything less than an A. Maybe this album caught me on a bad day. Maybe tomorrow I’ll delete this post. Or maybe… this is not yet Death Cab’s finest hour, and their best is yet to come. Bixby Canyon Bridge:
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