I’m really kind of torn. On one hand, I want to praise Death Cab for Cutie for being passionate and driven while still being even-handed. They don’t over-sell their message (whatever that is), and instead come at you from the back, slowly sidling up to you so you wonder if they weren’t there all along. So many bands, especially young indie bands like Death Cab, tend to be so attention-grasping that it’s a turn-off. On the other hand, I KNOW that they can be a really bombastic, really anthemic, really good rock and roll band. I just know it. Somewhere under Ben Gibbard’s melancholic exterior is a blazing rock star just aching to get out. But my fear is probably the same as his: what will happen if he releases him?
In 2003, Death Cab for Cutie was comfortably settled in indie land, making underground music that people were crazy about. As they slowly became more mainstream, both in popularity and style, they didn’t lose that thrown-together feel that all indie bands wear like a badge of honor. Transatlanticism, their fourth album, is probably the most mainstream of their indie albums, and it’s also their last before they became media darlings and everybody knew their name. And it’s also their best. We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes was a massive leap forward for them, as they perfected the live-in-the-studio feel, but it wasn’t ambitious enough. The Photo Album was a bit louder and made a bolder statement, but there was not a hook to be found anywhere in a 700-mile radius. With Transatlanticism, they finally hit just the right note.
The opener, “The New Year,” is their most ambitious number to date, with a huge sound contrasted against Gibbard’s willowy voice. It’s ridiculously anthemic, and it’s not even the most anthemic song on the album. Its lyrics set a tone that continues through the entire proceedings. “Title and Registration” has even more of that think-really-hard aspect to the lyrics, and is beautifully understated. The drum machine’s relentless beat gives it a mechanical feel, at the same time that the guitar and bells inject humanness. “The Sound of Settling” is driving and surprisingly poppy. The ba-ba chorus makes me think “this is an indie band that actually wants to be mass-market.” And then there’s the title track, which I didn’t like the first time I heard it. It might have been because my mind was occupied with other things, and I didn’t have enough attention to catch the subtle nuances and incredibly slow build. This is an exercise in the most amazing kind of restraint, and is something that every band could learn from. Instead of hurrying, it takes the time to enjoy itself, and its lush and rich textures have the space to really stretch out. “Transatlanticism” will surely be a live favorite, with lighters lit all around the arena. Amazingly, however, that song is in the middle of the album, so it’s not done. “We Looked Like Giants” is the hardest rocking song they’ve done yet, but the hard rock quality of it is not what you’d expect. This is where I suspect the most that there is a rock star hidden under Ben Gibbard’s submissive demeanor. It’s doomy like a metal band, but gentle and tender at the same exact time. And “A Lack of Color” closes the album, making us itch uncontrollably for the next album. It’s too bad Plans made a lot of the wrong choices, favoring schmaltze over substance.
When it’s over, Transatlanticism is a very satisfying experience. It’s strange, then, that the album taken as a whole doesn’t add up to much. Death Cab for Cutie are just so understated that they often come across as saying nothing at all. They make their listeners work very hard to get any satisfaction out of their music. While that’s admirable, it forces their constituency to be relatively small. Even though they’re in the mainstream now, I don’t think they’ll stay there for very long. At their heart, they’re an indie band, and indie by definition is not mainstream.
Prime Cuts:
Title and Registration
Transatlanticism
A Lack of Color
We Looked Like Giants
22 Rating: 10
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