Album Reviews

Narrow Stairs
Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
8.5
 on
Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 00:00
submitted by
Thomas
“Narrow Stairs” is album number seven for the Death Cabbers and nothing much has changed since “Plans”… but is that really necessary? When you’ve perfected your sound over the years and have come up with a sound so delicately delicious, would you seriously change anything about it? I wouldn’t. And luckily neither do Gibbard and co.

Once again this is an album with dark lyrical content that drag you into a mild depression but thanks to the wonderful melodies, the warm bass sounds and the punctual rhythms they always smuggle into their songs, things never get too bleak. Single “I Will Possess Your Heart” goes on for nearly 8 minutes without boring for one second and two songs into the album it’s alrady the second highlight after opener “Bixby Canyon Bridge” which rocks suprisingly hard for these guys. That song then stands in stark contrast with closer “The Ice Is Getting Thinner”, which is basically just Gibbard’s vocals shrouded in a lonely guitar. In that song he says that ‘We’re not the same, dear / As we used to be’ and while that may be true for him as a person, it’s not so for Death Cab For Cutie. And I honestly couldn’t be happier about it!

Tom Dumarey
Tom Dumarey

Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.