Death Cab for Cutie makes shift to a major label just fine
ARTIST: Death Cab For Cutie
RECORDING: “Narrow Stairs’’
Making the jump from an indie label to a major one can spell disaster, and many a fan heralded the demise of Death Cab For Cutie after their unfairly criticized Atlantic debut, 2005’s “Plans.’’ Again boasting slick production and a new direction for their sound, Death Cab’s knockout follow-up, “Narrow Stairs,’’ will shatter any expectations about this band.
Typically grounded in warm and bright flavors, Death Cab have widened their scope dramatically, with synth providing dark tones and biting atmosphere. They still cover the same heartfelt territory — love and happiness, rejection and regret — just with a lot more aplomb.
Opener “Bixby Canyon Bridge’’ provides a jolt, with a soft intro and frontman Ben Gibbard’s emotive vocals lulling you in before a hard riff hits you over the head.
Impressive lead single “I Will Possess Your Heart’’ boasts an ambitious intro — maybe too much so — propelled by bass and piano before Gibbard flashes his typical eloquence: “How I wish you could see the potential/The potential of you and me/It’s like a book elegantly bound/But in a language you can’t read just yet.’’
The disc is nicely balanced between driving rock — the poppy “No Sunlight,’’ anthemic “Cath,’’ and joyous retro vibe of “Long Division’’ and “Pity and Fear’’ — and moody mid-tempo ballads — a poetic “Grapevine Fires’’ and the self-deprecating oddity of “You Can Do Better Than Me.’’
— The Associated Press
