2003 has been the year for star-studded returns (Madonna, Jewel, Michele Branch, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Dido, to start the list), but there was perhaps no other artist that faced such a stigmatization with a new album like Death Cab for Cutie. Though they've been making records for some half-decade now, they've remained just underneath the surface of mainstream rock, not quite distinctive enough to stand out amongst the rest of the alt-rock pack (though it's no fault of their music, which was some of the best that they genre had to offer). This, of course, all changed when frontman Ben Gibbard teamed up with Dntel producer Jimmy Tamborello and created the emo-electronica project The Postal Service. It too did not make a huge mainstream splash, but it was the right catalyst into getting people talking. This, combined with a successful tour earlier this year (with the Dismemberment Plan), proved to set the stage for a Death Cab masterpiece, now that they have our attention. Ben Gibbard has defied expectation before, so even with his new accomplishments, both musical and commercial, he's not the one to get flustered from all the attention. If anything, that's exactly what he needed to push Death Cab into harder rock, dreamier singer-songwriter pop, and even some nice digressions into unabashed pop/rock. In fact, this is accomplished straight out of the gate with the superb "The New Year", that heads into the trippy alt-rock"Lightness", which then segues into Death Cab's traditional indie-rock roots with "Title and Registration". Past this already marvelous opening sequence, we see other album highlights like the pop-py "Expo '86", the hard rocker "Tiny Vessels", and then in the middle of the record, things become return to familiarity with the one-two punch of "Transatlanticism" and "Passenger Seat", the dreamiest, most introspective songs Gibbard has penned thus far. These climactic moments are not followed immediately with much memorable material, but the songs are well-written and the music just sounds so good, it can hide the fact that this record loses steam in its second-half. It's a small issue, though, because one thing that Death Cab does right is make music for the awkward, introverted soul, and Gibbard's lyrics might remain as puzzling as ever, but they somehow make this whole listening experience make sense. "Transatlanticism" can afford a few minor flaws, because none of them penetrate the truly astounding listen it is. It's personal yet universal, claustrophobic yet inviting, and it's all wrapped together with a nifty track sequencing trick that starts the opening song "The New Year" with the closing material of the equally great closer "A Lack of Color", meaning that you can listen to this record on repeat and not even notice. You don't need any further proof that this is indeed their masterwork; it can even make you hate anything else that dares call itself 'music'.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. The New Year 2. Lightness 3.
Title and Registration
4. Expo ’86 5. The Sound of
Settling 6. Tiny Vessels
7. Transatlanticism 8. Passenger
Seat 9. Death of an
Interior Decorator
10. We Looked
like Giants 11.
A Lack of Color
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