Death Cab For Cutie “Narrow Stairs” Review

Reeling from the success of 2005′s Platinum selling Plans, Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla and crew took a divided break before dropping the recently released Narrow Stairs. While the album has already seen commercial success, it has also invited swarms of both acclaim and detraction. With some questioning the impact of the band’s success on its craft and others simply enjoying the fact there would be a release this year, the album has been eagerly anticipated on all counts. Here are four reactions, four impressions, four takes on Death Cab For Cutie’s Narrow Stairs.

It just doesn’t get any easier for Ben Gibbard. You would think that the Meth Lab for Booty frontman would have cheered up after his last two wildly successful albums, but 2008′s Narrow Stairs finds him still spitting out the same bitter pathos as usual. The album begins on a positive note—”Bixby Canyon Bridge” is a tome on Gibbard’s meditation with the spirit of Jack Kerouac in Big Sur (Gibby chose to write some of the albums’ songs at the site of Kerouac’s famous breakdown). The song uses some angry guitar riffs and fuzzed out distortion to convey the frustration of unrealistic expectations (like hoping to commune with ghosts), and is largely successful. Unfortunately though, the hits don’t keep on coming. The rest of the album is a bit of a slide into the mundane—whether it’s the sophomoric poetry of “Your New Twin Sized Bed” or the flat out whininess of “The Ice is Getting Thinner.” While the album certainly isn’t terrible, after three years of songwriting you would think Gibbard would have something to serve up that was tastier than vegan hamburger. Track number five pretty much sums it up in its title: “You Can Do Better Than Me.” In Narrow Stairs‘ case, I am inclined to agree. [Jon Behm]

While most indie-rock lyrics are either vague, abstract gibberish, tongue-in-cheek cutesiness or over-earnest seventh grade love poetry, Ben Gibbard’s writing has always struck me as special. As a hip hop head, I admire his ability to craft songs that hold up as concepts and include at least one or two “oh shit” moments lyrically. Narrow Stairs is no different. The four-and-a-half minute intro to the otherwise creepily wonderful “I Will Possess Your Heart” may be a little self-indulgent, but for the most part the songs here are as beautiful constructed as their lyrics. It’s not so much a “dark” album (as some critics have called it) as it is just a sad album… a very sad album. The music itself twists around the lyrics, sometimes mirroring their sadness and sometimes contrasting with it. After a very strong first half, Narrow Stairs runs out of steam a bit with a couple of weaker tracks, but then regains its footing for a heartbreaking finale, “The Ice Is Getting Thinner.” Overall, it’s a perfect catharsis for those of us just getting over our winter misery. [Kyle "Guante" Myhre]

I have become increasingly less and less into Death Cab for Cutie with every new album they have put out, especially so with Plans. Personally, coming into the fold at The Photo Album has left me less enthusiastic of the more low-key, methodic singing of Ben Gibbard, although I never thought the charm would wear off on me. I just can’t get behind Narrow Stairs wholeheartedly. As usual, the musicianship is great, and Gibbard’s lyricism is on par with the rest of the DCfC catalog, but there is something missing, as if its heart is beating at a sluggish pace throughout. With “I Will Possess Your Heart” taking a good four and a half minutes to materialize as an actual song, I find myself just plain irritated by 4:34, despite being worthwhile to stick with the track in its entirety. The album isn’t completely lost on me, though. “No Sunlight” has a good upbeat tempo to keep me interested, “You Can Do Better Than Me” is fully realized with lush layers of piano, organ and big orchestral drums. “Long Division” is decent, but the refrain’s line of “To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder” leaves me unexpectedly rolling my eyes. The classic Death Cab guitar lines and peppy drums are the last vestiges of enjoyment whatsoever, the last two songs, “Pity and Fear” and especially “The Ice is Getting Thinner,” leave the record to sort-of wander off into mediocrity. Essentially It’s definitely not an album that I will take off the shelf very often or queue up regularly on the iPod. Which is pretty sad coming from a fan, if you ask me. [Review by guest contributor Jen Paulson]

Hypothetically speaking – the most beautiful, smart, vibrant woman could approach me by saying that Death Cab For Cutie were a good band and I’d still have scoffed. Not just at the idea that someone would enjoy a second-rate Weezer knock off (at least the Weezer that still made albums worth a damn) but more importantly because they would brag about it. Without really listening to the band I had built up an idea of what they represented, and not even the best of intentions can overcome a closed mind…sometimes. Giving Narrow Stairs an honest chance proved my thoughts to be a bit preemptive. “I Will Possess Your Heart” makes me wonder if all this time the band has been writing wonderfully churning songs capable of bearing their own weight. “No Sunlight” and “Cath…” add to the glaring enjoyability of the album, though, and as it shifts past the first few tracks it develops into something a bit typical of what I had expected – musically consistent mid-tempo tracks with titles like “Pity and Fear.” Despite my initial disposition I enjoyed Narrow Stairs to a point where I’d actually bring it up in a conversation; so…bring on the ladies! [Chris DeLine]

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Also: Death Cab For Cutie “Meet Me on the Equinox” Video