It's exciting to follow bands from album to album. Through these recordings, we can sometimes pick up on different periods in their lives. Death Cab for Cutie's latest effort The Photo Album is a prime example: Here we are left with an album that emits the often overlooked emotion, happiness. Of course, it's uncertain whether their intent was to provide a "happy" album, but it does provide an alternative to the melancholy essence of the albums of yesteryear.
The Photo Album says goodbye to the laid-back decorum of We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, and more or less, continues surfing on light-hearted pop, especially evident on last year's Forbidden Love EP. Most of the songs have a similar upbeat drum style, coupled with chiming guitars and melodic vocals. The melodies on this album are so catchy that I can barely listen and type this review without stopping in failed attempts to imitate Ben Gibbard's voice. But where Forbidden Love mainly emphasizes melody, the songs on The Photo Album concentrate on intensity and vigor, as well as melody.
The style discrepancies between the three albums seem to have a lot to do with the drummer. Nathan Good provided the mechanical drumming on their debut album Something About Airplanes, giving the album a much needed edge. Good also played a couple songs for the follow-up We Have the Facts, but the other 8 songs saw drumming by Ben Gibbard (vocalist/songwriter/guitarist). Gibbard provided slow, simplistic grooves that drew a constant mood throughout. As for the The Photo Album, the established Michael Schorr injects his unique style to the formula, resulting in a different songwriting approach. Death Cab no longer need to rely on the guitars alone for dynamic shifts, the drums often carry the songs to heights that Death Cab have not previously been before.
Aside from the conventional rock instruments, Death Cab for Cutie also comes equipped with the good ol' ebony and ivory for this album, evident on "Debate Exposes Doubt", "I Was A Kaleidoscope", "Blacking Out the Friction", and "Information Travels Faster". The piano is never a standout element in the music, but it does provide the mid-tones between Chris' trebly guitars and Nick's low end bass, creating a fuller sound.
Until this album came out, I never realized how consistently strong Something About Airplanes and We Have the Facts are. I've always enjoyed these albums, but I didn't process the fact that there are no apparent weak moments; I could relate to every song they churned out. Unfortunately, The Photo Album has shown me the side of Death Cab that I cannot relate to as well. I can see how people would enjoy songs such as "Information Travels Faster" and "I Was A Kaleidoscope", but for whatever reason, they just don't quite do anything for me. And some sections are just a bit too poppy and/or predictable for my personal preference.
But on the other hand, this album also displays Death Cab's most unique and strongest efforts such as "A Movie Script Ending", with it's subtle mood changes; "Styrofoam Plates", with its lulling guitars; "We Laugh Indoors", showcasing Death Cab's most unique venture; and "Debate Expresses Doubt", with its amazing outro section. No, this is not Death Cab for Cutie's greatest album, but I'm sure it will play a vital role in the future of their music. Whether they continue this style, tread back to their old style, or jump to a new style, the fact remains that Death Cab for Cutie can still craft an amazing pop tart that gets me moist at my weakest. The Photo Album Bonus CD
rating: 4/5
As if 10 songs weren't enough, a bonus disc comes with the limited version of The Photo Album at no extra cost. With only three songs and 20 odd minutes (already more than half the length of The Photo Album), Death Cab spit out two originals and a cover song that take you emotionally further than any song off the full-length.
The bonus disc begins with the extremely laid back "20th Century Towers". The opening guitar riff sounds more like a Mogwai song than a DCFC creation, as a sullen Ben Gibbard gently sings his heart out: "We'll correct collegiate mistakes / A shower of formal ideals / Completely soused / The hearts on our sleeves". Gibbard keeps a quiet demeanor throughout most of the song until the end nears by, where he cleverly raises the intensity of his voice for the word "softly": "When I sang softly in your ear and tied these arms around you". The song ends with harmonized guitars gently laying the song to sleep.
The cover song is Bjork's "All Is Full of Love", which comes as a welcome surprise. If you've heard the original version, you can only imagine how hard it would be to recreate the mood with rock instruments. And even more challenging would be pulling it off without sounding cheesy. But Death Cab pass successfully, adding structure and raw attitude to the once free-form love song.
The final song "Stability" is definitely one of DCFC's most intimate approaches, and stands as one of their most moving songs. It begins with a simple piano line, eventually swelling into a delicate musical journey, fully accentuated by Chris Walla's amazing guitar work. After three minutes of beautiful, soothing music, the song falls on a slow drumbeat with no apparent reverberation. Guitars slowly creep in as Gibbard provides falsetto vocals that are effectively pushed in the background. The riff continues for over 8 more minutes, slowly engulfing every inch of your body. The song features guest appearances by labelmate John Vanderslice, who sings backup vocals, and James Mendenhall who takes over the piano during the outro.
After listening to The Photo Album and then hearing the bonus CD that came with it, I realized that Death Cab for Cutie are strong songwriters -- and they might not even know it. It just seems amazing to me that they are not spending countless nights wide-eyed, regretting the fact that they actually left these masterpieces off the full-length album. Don't get me wrong, The Photo Album is certainly not a disappointment by any means, but it's just that these songs are absolutely incredible. These songs are everything I love about Death Cab for Cutie. It's just too bad that cutting these songs from the album seems to point to a direction that I'm hesitant to follow.
As if 10 songs weren't enough, a bonus disc comes with the limited version of The Photo Album at no extra cost. With only three songs and 20 odd minutes (already more than half the length of The Photo Album), Death Cab spit out two originals and a cover song that take you emotionally further than any song off the full-length.
The bonus disc begins with the extremely laid back "20th Century Towers". The opening guitar riff sounds more like a Mogwai song than a DCFC creation, as a sullen Ben Gibbard gently sings his heart out: "We'll correct collegiate mistakes / A shower of formal ideals / Completely soused / The hearts on our sleeves". Gibbard keeps a quiet demeanor throughout most of the song until the end nears by, where he cleverly raises the intensity of his voice for the word "softly": "When I sang softly in your ear and tied these arms around you". The song ends with harmonized guitars gently laying the song to sleep.
The cover song is Bjork's "All Is Full of Love", which comes as a welcome surprise. If you've heard the original version, you can only imagine how hard it would be to recreate the mood with rock instruments. And even more challenging would be pulling it off without sounding cheesy. But Death Cab pass successfully, adding structure and raw attitude to the once free-form love song.
The final song "Stability" is definitely one of DCFC's most intimate approaches, and stands as one of their most moving songs. It begins with a simple piano line, eventually swelling into a delicate musical journey, fully accentuated by Chris Walla's amazing guitar work. After three minutes of beautiful, soothing music, the song falls on a slow drumbeat with no apparent reverberation. Guitars slowly creep in as Gibbard provides falsetto vocals that are effectively pushed in the background. The riff continues for over 8 more minutes, slowly engulfing every inch of your body. The song features guest appearances by labelmate John Vanderslice, who sings backup vocals, and James Mendenhall who takes over the piano during the outro.
After listening to The Photo Album and then hearing the bonus CD that came with it, I realized that Death Cab for Cutie are strong songwriters -- and they might not even know it. It just seems amazing to me that they are not spending countless nights wide-eyed, regretting the fact that they actually left these masterpieces off the full-length album. Don't get me wrong, The Photo Album is certainly not a disappointment by any means, but it's just that these songs are absolutely incredible. These songs are everything I love about Death Cab for Cutie. It's just too bad that cutting these songs from the album seems to point to a direction that I'm hesitant to follow.
1. Steadier Footing
2. A Movie Script Ending
3. We Laugh Indoors
4. Information Travels Faster
5. Why You'd Want to Live Here
6. Blacking Out the Friction
7. I Was A Kaleidoscope
8. Styrofoam Plates
9. Coney Island
10. Debate Exposes Doubt
BONUS CD:
1. 20th Century Towers
2. All is Full of Love (Bjork)
3. Stability
More about: Death Cab for Cutie
