Retracing Steps -- Track by Track on "Narrow Stairs"

I wanted to do this, then gave up, but changed my mind again -- so here we go with a track by track review of Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs".

Track 1 - Bixby Canyon Ridge: This one starts off a little rough, but gets better as it winds along. This is definitely the type of track that needs a little time to grow on you before it hits that typical Death Cab place of floating around your head for days on end. I always pay particular attention to the opening track of any album because it sets the tone. Death Cab has done a mostly good job in choosing these songs...."Title Track", "The New Year" and "Marching Bands of Manhattan" are among my favorite songs by the band, and I doubt that its any accident that these are from the albums I count as my 3 favorite by the band.

Track 2 - I Will Possess Your Heart: This is a fantastic song. This isn't a band that excels at the extended jam, and rather than try here, they simply let the song build to the verse and chorus. Brilliant, and it will stick in your mind (I had to fight the urge to use "possess your..." there). Lyrically, this might be the creepiest song I've heard since "Every Breath You Take" by the Police.

Track 3 - No Sunshine: Didn't like it at first. Too bouncy, too cheesy. Saw the video the other day, and it's a rare glimpse into the sense of humor of a band that doesn't display it on record all that much. Since seeing the video, the song's been stuck in my head. So not an all time classic or anything, but a great pop song with some darker-than-you'd expect lyrics.

Track 4 - Cath....: One reason I was curious to hear this song...my wife is Katherine, goes by Kate, and HATES to be called Kathy and nears violence when she hears Kath. The opening guitar riff drew me in, and this became my favorite song on the album. There is always at least one song on each Death Cab album that compels you to dissect the lyrics and understand the story behind them. "Title and Registration", "What Sarah Said...", "Styrofoam Plates"....This one belongs with all of them. It's also the first Death Cab song I can think of that would sound just as much at home on another album as it does on it's own album. This one would fit perfectly on "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes." That's a good thing if you don't know that album.

Track 5 - Talking Bird: Another thing every Death Cab album has featured is a song that just never clicks with me. So far, I skip this one every time through. Sometimes, these songs come back around, but I don't think this one will.

Track 6 - You Can Do Better Than Me: Prototypical Death Cab lyrics and song title. Musically, it sounds like an old Beach Boys song. A good track, but not one that transcends that "I'm in the mood to listen to DCFC" thing, so would be skipworthy in some cases.

Track 7 - Grapevine Fires: This might not make much sense, I suppose, but while "Cath..." is my favorite track on the album, "Grapevine Fires" is the best song. The lyrics are about the wildfires in California, but what makes this a great song is that you can dive into the lyrics and be rewarded, but musically, it's laid back piano shuffle is just as great. This belongs among the best of Death Cab, without a doubt.

Track 8 - Your New Twin Size Bed: Another prototypical Death Cab affair, but I like this one better than track 6. Nothing all that special about it, aside from that.

Track 9 - Long Division: Another standout. This is the closest they come to rocking out. The opening drums/bass rhythm suggest this might be a retread of "We Laugh Indoors", but from there it reminds me more of "Company Calls" than "Indoors"....that is also a good thing. This one will stick in your head, too.

Track 10 - Pity and Fear: It is not often that Death Cab reminds me of the Dave Matthews Band -- OK, never is a better word -- but this one does. DMB's "Before These Crowded Streets" featured several songs that had a middle eastern vibe to them, and that was the band's big departure from the norm at the time. That's immediately what I thought of when I first listened to this song. It's easily the most different Death Cab song I can think of, and for that alone it's a standout. Having said that, it's not a song that would have a place in your mind when taken outside of the album.

Track 11 - The Ice is Getting Thinner: Not bad, but this sounds like another version of "The Stable Song", which of course was a reworking of "Stableness". Fitting closer to the album, but not a strong track on its own.

Overall opinion -- Even with the benefit of some time to really digest the album, this one falls just short of my expectations. To be fair, my expectations were pretty high, so that's not to suggest that this isn't a very good album. "Transatlanticism" was my first exposure to DCFC, and remains my favorite. From there, I worked backwards and found that all of their work was solid, and often great. "Plans" stuck with me instantly -- I remember that just after buying that album, I felt like I had to listen to it at least once a day, which is a practice I haven't fallen into since high school when I couldn't afford a new album every couple of weeks. "Narrow Stairs" isn't sticking with me quite the same way. What I do really like about the album is that it's a proper album, much like all of Death Cab's outings besides "The Photo Album". The tracks each have their own merits, but are much better as part of a whole than most could possibly be on their own. That is something that is becoming more and more rare in today's music world. Another thing that I've liked about all of Death Cab's albums, and it's especially true here....There's room for 14 or 15 tracks on a CD, but Death Cab keeps things to 11 songs. While there is that one track that I don't like, it's a stronger album for keeping the skip-worthy fair to a minimum. If you're a fan of this band, you will like what you hear (you probably also have had this album for several weeks). If you're new to the band, this isn't a bad place to start, but there are better choices.

Death Cab, Coldplay and REM Live

It's been a long time since I've had something to say (obviously), so lot's to catch up on. First things first.....Please send your thoughts and best wishes to all of the people in the midwest dealing with the flood waters. If you can do more, you should.

Ok, on to the trivial stuff.

***Saw REM at the United Center on 6/6. 4th time I've seen the band, and it immediately leap frogged the preceeding two shows to be my second favorite REM show that I've seen. For grins, I've been reading some old reviews of REM's last couple of albums, and I find it funny to read that Reveal, Around the Sun and Accelerate were all reviewed as "return to form" efforts by several reviewers. Now, Accelerate is the closest to that mark, but you can read my thoughts on that in a previous post. Anyway, the show was fantastic. The National and Modest Mouse formed a great 1-2 punch as openers, and REM seemed to be having more fun playing live than I've seen since the Green tour. After opening with Living Well is the Best Revenge, we went 5 or 6 songs without hearing another from the new disc. That's mining your catalog. A few that I wish I could have heard (Driver 8, Auctioneer), a few I was thrilled to hear (These Days, Pretty Persuasion, Fall on Me with Mr. Johnny Marr) and a couple I wish they'd have skipped (Animal, Walk Unafraid), but all in all a fantastic show.

***I've been meaning to tackle Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" with the same track-by-track review as I did for Acclerate. I won't go into that much detail. It doesn't quite resonate with me the same way Plans and Transatlanticism did, but still is a VERY good album. There are some classic tracks, and the song "Cath...." would fit nicely on any of their discs, which is saying something when you consider that they haven't made a bad record yet.

***The real thing that has my brain spinning today is the new Coldplay. I am tempted to wait a month or so to say anything about it. When X&Y came out, I immediately told people that it was fantastic. But over time -- not that much time in fact -- it put me in a place where I was almost done with Coldplay altogether. For all the great moments on that disc, I could never shake the feeling that it was a big band feeling like they needed to make their big record, and while they succeeded more than failed, what I was left with was an album that didn't feel like a band effort. Slick production is fine, but sometimes a simple approach serves a song better, and nothing on X&Y sounded like that was the case.

Something I really hate about the CD era and now the digital download era is that the music industry seems to be compelled to always fill up the extra space allowed by the formats. More often than not, I come away from albums thinking that it would be a classic if only it weren't for those two songs in the middle that just suck. "Viva La Vida" shows this as well as any big new album does (Accelerate, at just over 1/2 an hour proves the point as well). This record feels like something the 4 band members did together. It has a unified feeling, and if you're an iTunes nerd like me, you'll actually be treated to that rare bonus track that is actually better than the album version (the song Lost).

The album is a bit of a stretch for the band, but doesn't stray so far that it doesn't sound like Coldplay. Thankfully, Brian Eno seems to have told Chris Martin that the falsetto is more effective when he DOESN'T use it on every song. It shows up, but feels much more in tune with the moment of the song where he busts it out. There are some departures -- Lovers in Japan is nice mid-tempo number that has a piano riff that would have been at home on any alterna-pop record that came out in the early 90's. Viva La Vida has an epic sound, and the phrase "That was when I ruled the world" will swirl in your mind long after you listen (if it's not already after seeing it in iTunes commercials). Violet Hill is as close to brooding rocker as these guys have ever churned out. There are also two hidden tracks that are nice diversions from the normal Coldplay formula.

This one probably won't win over all the Coldplay haters, although my wife comments that she doesn't mind the song from the aforementioned iTunes ad (Coldplay makes her cringe and sometimes leads to migranes). But if you liked their first two albums, and especially if you, like me, found X&Y to be good but a little disappointing, I think you'll be happy when you hear the new album.