Death Cab for Cutie-"Codes and Keys" Review

The three years between DCFC's last disc, "Narrow Stairs", and their seventh album, "Codes and Keys", were definitely some of the more significant in the band's history. Obviously, the most important event was Ben Gibbard's marriage to Zooey Deschanel, whose presence can be heartily felt throughout, not just through the lush music, but within the songs themselves ("Monday Morning" being the best example, where Gibbard alludes to Deschanel's love for 'old things'). Also relevant is that during the years that DCFC was away, the landscape of music had begun to make some big changes, most notably trading in classic pop/rock for a more electronic approach. Normally, these kind of alterations would make an indie-rock group fear for their next move, trying to work around within the new environment. But Death Cab for Cutie, fortunately, didn't have this issue, since Gibbard had already released a project with Jimmy Tamborello that well predicted the new electronic movement of the new decade. All of DCFC's trademark elements remain intact: such as the poetic lyrics, the voices being phased through a vocoder, and the dreamy atmospheres. There may be more synthesizers here, but there's no debate that "Codes and Keys" remains sealed in the realm of raw rock-n-roll (well, more rock, less roll, of course). There are also more leanings towards pop, such as the opener "Home is a Fire", a truly great song that for a moment, takes Death Cab into some unfamiliar territory. After this, however, they quickly go back to the sound that made their name with the title track, featuring a piano riff that gently pushes the song along. We don't see another clean break from the classic Death Cab sound until the closer "Stay Young Go Dancing" (even its title seems odd for a DCFC album), which is indie-pop at its most indelible. And in fact, the best moments on "Codes and Keys" are when it exists happily on the surface pleasure, including "Monday Morning" and the lovely "Underneath the Sycamore". The least appealing moments are when ideas get a little too extended, such as "Unobstructed Views", which very well could've achieved its desired effect in four minutes, but wears on for six. What's worse is that it appears in the middle stretch of the record, and while the rest of the tracks past this do have plenty of rewarding hooks and productions, they don't necessarily compensate for when the record gets a little too heavy. But that may just be par for the course when listening to "Codes and Keys" all at once, when dissected, it contains some of Death Cab's best material. And while this record may not demand your full attention like "Narrow Stairs" did, it can still equally function as listening music, or something more.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Home is a Fire                2. Codes and Keys              3. Some Boys

4. Doors Unlocked and Open5. You are a Tourist               6. Unobstructed Views

7. Monday Morning               8. Portable Television            9. Underneath the Sycamore

10. St. Peter’s Cathedral        11. Stay Young Go Dancing