The Sound of Settling

I am fan of Death Cab For Cutie/Ben Gibbard/The Postal Service as much as the next guy, and was equally pumped when I heard good things about their new album Narrow Stairs (out next Tuesday, 5/13). Truthfully, I don't see what the fuss is about. Last month, I read the Paste Magazine cover story in which Gibbard talks about how he moved into the Big Sur house once inhabited by his idol Jack Kerouac to fuel his creative fire for Stairs. He basically confesses about how he was unable to draw any inspiration from this experience because he "idealized" the situation too much. He then goes on to contrast his collegiate Kearouacian idealizations with his current state of mind -- one that is surprisingly depressing considering the praise he has accumulated in recent years. Taking this into account, it is pretty obvious that Gibbard's defeated attitude has been translated into his mostly depressing new body of work.

Although Gibbard has fit comfortably as the master of melancholy to some, I really think he needs to grow out of this phase and show us a little depth. The first single, "I Will Possess Your Heart" may as well be considered the sequel to "The New Year" on Transatlanticism. We are given a bold four and half minutes of instrumental build-up before Gibbard finally chimes in with, "How I wish you could see the potential/The potential of you and me/Its like a book, elegantly bound but/In a language that you cant read." Nearly five minutes of waiting and all we get is the makings of a bad junior high school poem, huh? Ben, we get it: your heart is still broken and you've made mistakes you regret.

Unfortunately, we get this six or seven more times on Narrow Stairs as indicated by a multitude of foreboding song titles: "You Can Do Better Than Me", "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", and "Pity And Fear". Gibbard, never known for being discrete, does does a excellent job painting out the meanings of these songs, but again, this is nothing new to Death Cab fans. There are some highlights on this album, but unfortunately they are few and far between. The upbeat "No Sunlight" shakes things up a little bit despite its repetitiveness. The unquestionable standout track on Narrow Stairs is "Long Division" -- Gibbard's most ambitious attempt to develop as a musician. And don't get me wrong. Musically this album is not bad, but it really doesn't show the progress that many could have otherwise hoped for after disappointing on Plans. There is no doubt that Gibbard is as a talented singer/songwriter as it gets. But in order to make the next great (and I mean GREAT) Death Cab album, he needs to get over his obsession with looking at the past for inspiration.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10