Album: Something About Airplanes
Year: 1998
Label: Elsinor/Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "President of What?" OR "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits"
One of the most accomplished debut albums I've ever heard... and that's even more impressive because it was recorded on an 8-track!
It's really hard to believe this was recorded only about a year into their existence because it's really well thought and there's a very mature overtone to the whole thing, and besides it really sounds like they're having a ball doing it. It's clear from the beginning that these fellows are not your average indy rockers and right from the cello-laced opening seconds of "Bend To Squares" you realize it. There's small usages of unlikely instruments all throughout the record. You get electric pianos, organs, and unlikely percussion instruments, and that's just in the first three songs. The record is really strong from beginning to end, offerring not even one weak or so-so track. Most of the tracks have slow, gliding tempos and ironic, sometimes twisted lyrics ("I think I'm drunk enough to drive you home now" from "Champagne From a Paper Cup"). On repeated listens you'll get the vibe that these kids had been waiting years to make this record and that's the kind of thing that makes records like this so great.
~Austin
Album: We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes
Year: 2000
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "Lowell, MA," "Company Calls Epilogue" OR "Scientist Studies" are my favorites, but there's really not a bad song on the record.
Would you believe it if I told you this album is even better than their first album? Well aren't you cynical!
While Something About Airplanes seemed like a big accomplished statement for the band, We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, much to my own personal surprise, makes it look like a foolish messy attempt at writing some halfway decent songs. No lie. And the even bigger surprise is that this album deviates absolutely nothing from the direction the first album pointed towards. Basically, it sounds like what'd you expect from the band, but just about a dozen times better than those expectations. Song after song of highly polished and just plain great material is pulled off, seemingly without effort. During most of the album, it plays like one highlight after another, balancing light hearted fun numbers with slower, more serious songs with realtive ease. If Something About Airplanes was the vigorous output of excitement that had built up, We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes is the calm, reserved sound of a band finding its confidence. And it's a damn good record on top of that.
~Austin
Album: Forbidden Love EP
Year: 2000
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "Song For Kelly Huckaby"
Some leftovers and some new stuff, all great.
On this EP, you get three new songs and two of which originally appeared in differing versions on We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes. The two tracks from the album are the acoustic take on "405" and a superb alternate take on "Company Calls Epilogue." Amongst the new stuff, you get three new songs that will have you saying to yourself, "Yep, that's why I like this band!" Considering that "Song For Kelly Huckaby" is one of the band's better recordings, I would consider this a must have. In any case, it's quite a treat for hard core fans at most and a wonderful companion piece to We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes at very least.
~Austin
Album: The Photo Album
Year: 2001
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "We Laugh Indoors," "Why You'd Want To Live Here"
So what's this band all about, anyhow?
There's just something about this record. It's got that dirty rotten stench of brilliance throughout the entire thing. And again, it's a surprise because they're headed in the exact same direction they've been going since they began. What can be so special about it if it's not unique from anything else in their catalogue, you ask? Well, to me, this is the ultimate statement of that sound. Their most polished, thought out and best executed moment until this point. If you're curious about what's so great about this band, look no further than this album. It contains some of the band's most well known calling cards with "A Movie Script Ending," "Styrofoam Plates" and the incredible epic "We Laugh Indoors." At once, it's Ben Gibbard's most isolated, personal, darkest and best executed material to date. From the previously mentioned "We Laugh Indoors," a scathing account of a relationship gone south and one of the Cab's all time best songs; through the rant directed in the vicinity of Los Angeles "Why You'd Want To Live Here," with lines like "Is this the city of angels or demons?" and "You can't swin in a city this shallow" (ouch!); to the retrospective view of the bittersweet closer "Debate Exposes Doubt." Seems confusing, but it's very representative of the record: varied and unpredictable. When mashed all together like this it becomes clear that some chemistry was bubbling bigger than before in the studio this time around (perhaps the permanent switch from Nathan Good to Mike Schorr on drums had something to do with it). A smashing effort from start to finish, and possibly the band's definitive statement.
~Austin
A NOTE ABOUT THE VINYL RELEASE...
The vinyl version of this album has the song "Gridlock Caravans" which isn't on the CD version. It's a great, but brief song.
Album: The Stability EP
Year: 2002
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "All Is Full of Love"
More of the same (good thing).
A simple three song EP has never offered so much diversity as this one does. The opening track, "20th Century Towers" is a slow, minimalist piece that's really quite moving, even for these guys. They pull a cover out of left field and do Bjork's "All Is Full of Love" and the results are nothing less than stunning. Mike Schorr really shows some diversity (and not to mention exceptional skill) on the drums and Ben Gibbard gives the song an interesting twist, while staying fairly true to the original. The EP is capped off by the twelve minute epic title track which remains one of Death Cab's most powerful songs. If you like anything by the band, you really have no excuse for not hearing this excellent EP.
~Austin
Album: You Can Play These Songs With Chords
Year: 2002
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "Army Corps of Architects"
The groups's true first album plus a collection of rarities.
This album compiles the group's original 1997 album, You Can Play These Songs With Chords, and adds almost another album's worth of odds and ends. The original album is great, offering different recordings of "President of What?," "Champagne From a Paper Cup," "Pictures In An Exhibition," "Amputations" and "Line of Best Fit" than the ones found on Something About Airplanes. In addition, there's three songs that weren't on the proper debut: "Hindsight," "That's Incentive" and "Two Cars." It's a really great insight into the original lineup of the band. The odds and ends are the main attraction here, highlighting everything from the band's earliest recordings dating back to 1996 to fan club only and split single releases. There's a couple covers of The Secret Stars and The Smiths, repsectively (The Smiths cover in particular being rather good, despite some flubbed lyrics by Ben). The majority of the material feels like the fun for-the-hell-of-it type (and the corresponding liner notes by Ben and Chris Walla confirm that most of the time). Among the rest of the material, you get to hear Chris sing and Ben play drums ("New Candles"), an attempt at being New Order ("Tomorrow"), the band's interpretation of hip hop ("Flustered/Hey Tomcat!"), the brilliant original version of "Song For Kelly Huckaby" and a handful of some of the band's best ballads ("Prove My Hypotheses" and "Army Corps of Architects," which Ben says is 'by far' his favorite recording the band has done; with good reason, it's fantastic). As any collection of this kind of thing goes, it's a mixed bag. But an intruiging one, to be sure.
~Austin
Album: Transatlanticism
Year: 2003
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: To pick one would be to disrespect another... I can't do it.
Ever wonder if they'll start to suck? Well, keep wondering, it hasn't happened. And from the way things are going, they are going in the opposite direction, fast.
It really is quite a feet that Death Cab For Cutie has accomplished. Three albums and two EPs into their career and you'd be hard pressed to find a song that was uninteresting, led alone bad or unworthy. And it says something about the band when you could make a strong argument for each of their passing albums being their strongest to date. We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes was better than Something About Airplanes. The Photo Album was better than We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes. And now, Transatlanticism is their finest work to date. Another new drummer and, just like last time they brought in a new drummer, it seems to have upped the ante for the entire band. The album is simply amazing. Unlike past albums that retain similar feelings and sounds (although those feelings and sounds are great), Transatlanticism plays like a good movie. The kind of film that touches on just enough emotions and issues and makes all the right moves and says all the right things at all the right times. The songs find Ben Gibbard achieving his most complex and intricate writing and guitar playing not heard on any other Death Cab recordings up until now; truly, the entire band is in top form for the duration. The subject matter of the material travels familiar Death Cab ground, but Ben Gibbard is at his most personal on songs like "We Looked Like Giants" and "Passenger Seat." It's the most varied Death Cab album to date, revolving from uptempo rockers like "The Sound of Settling" right into beautifully lush, heartbreaking ballads like "Tiny Vessls" easily and without a problem. The entire sequence of the record is one of its biggest assets. The whole thing is brilliantly sequenced, but the middle trilogy of "Tiny Vessles," the title track and "Passenger Seat" is one of the strongest sequences I've heard on any record in quite some years. The production is the cleanest and lushest of any of the group's albums and their heavily layered guitars benefit greatly from the upgrade. It feels like a major revelation took place with Ben letting loose lines like "This is fact not fiction... for the first time in years..." on "A Lack of Color" and this record was the outcome. Truthfully, I'd really have a hard time disliking this album, regardless of who was performing it. But the fact that one of my favorite bands came through with flying colors and delivered at a time when they seemed poised to finally make their big move makes it all the more satisfying and enjoyable. A masterpiece. Exceptional.
~Austin
Album: The John Byrd EP
Year: 2005
Label: Barsuk
Producer: artist
Best song: "We Looked Like Giants"
Live and sassy!
Just before the band jumped to major label Atlantic, they released this last EP through Barsuk that features them faithfully running through fan favorites on various dates compiled from the Transatlanticism tour. They sound pretty competant throughout but no real surprises occur until the last few songs. "We Looked Like Giants" totally rules as they stretch it out to nearly ten minutes, "405" receives its usual excellent run-through and finally "Blacking out the Friction" molds into a Sebadoh cover. The between song banter finds BG and Mr. Walla both in good moods and ready to give the crowd a fantastic show. But, all in all, Death Cab is better seen live than just simply heard. As most live releases go, this is strictly for completists and die-hards, but those folks will eat it up.
~Austin
ABOUT THE ALBUM'S AVAILABILITY...
Perhaps to make their longtime followers less weary about their step up to the major label, this album was only made available to independent retailers. So, you can either special order it from your favorite mom and pop store or it can easily be purchased straight from the label at Barsuk.com.
Album: Plans
Year: 2005
Label: Barsuk/Atlantic
Producer: artist
Best song: "Soul Meets Body", "Brothers on a Hotel Bed", "Crooked Teeth" and that silly little acoustic ditty isn't bad either
Transatlanticism, Part Two and as sequels go, this isn't as good as the original.
I was surprised, honestly. I expected them to continue being invincible. I should have known that after the heights achieved on Transatlanticism there really was nowhere to go but down. However, it should be noted right away that an average album for this band is a masterpiece in comparison to its peers. It's not that there's anything wrong with this album, it's just that one can't help but wonder that --oh man, I hate myself for this-- without the jump to a major label songs like "Your Heart is an Empty Room", "Someday You Will Be Loved" and "What Sarah Said" would not have come out sounding so overproduced and... well, corny. Another thing that drags this album down is that it is so one-dimensional. Essentially, every song here is about death. But don't be mistaken, this is the happiest, most care-free death march you'll ever hear. I mean "Marching Bands of Manhattan" doesn't exactly sound depressing, now, does it? But, yessir, that one's about dyin' too. Practically the only song that actually sounds like its subject matter is arguably one of the best songs the band has ever done. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" simply features Ben accompanying himself on acoustic guitar as he narrates in his most fragile and vulnerable performance on record: "If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied and illuminate the news on their vacancy signs.. if there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, I will follow you into the dark." Granted, it's about death in as good of a way as possible, it's still absolutely heartbreaking. It's an absolutely gorgeous song that pushes an otherwise disappointing album back into 'good' territory. If you liked Transatlanticism, you'll probably like this record too, but will ultimately find yourself going back to its predecessor because, let's face it, this one just doesn't resonate.
~Austin
BONUS TRACKS?
Yep, there were two extra songs that came with different versions of the album. "Talking Like Turnstiles" was an extra track on the vinyl version and "Jealousy Rides With Me" was on the b-side of a promotional seven inch single for "Soul Meets Body" given away with initial CD copies of the album. Both songs are ok-ish, mid-tempo numbers that will be of interest to collectors.
I saw the scene unfold, so take me back to the main reviews page.
