PRINTUp the narrow staircase
With its latest album snagging the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, Death Cab for Cutie’s mainstream horizons are widening.
Courtesy of Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is (from left) Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr, Chris Walla and Ben Gibbard. Its newest album sold 54,000 copies its first day.
May 22, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Before Death Cab for Cutie was able to reinvent the wheel, the band had to get back to basics. After pulling a rock star and spending a month in a barn in the middle of nowhere to record 2005’s Plans, the band decided to get a little more comfortable for its newly released album, Narrow Stairs. In search of that something special, Death Cab split its time between studios owned by band members and friends.
“The logic behind switching studios was just to make sure that we were getting the right sounds,” bassist Nick Harmer says. For Death Cab, those right sounds are more rocking than anything it’s done before.
What: Death Cab for Cutie
Where: The Blue Note
When: May 31, 6 p.m.
Cost: $25
Call: 874-1944
Stairway to stardom
Narrow Stairs is Death Cab’s second full-length album with a major label, Atlantic Records. “There is a pretty radical departure between Plans, our last record, and this record for sure,” Harmer says. The departure was successful considering the album sold 54,000 copies in its first day.
“Plans is a little bit more of a quiet record and a little more introspective — maybe even darker in some ways. This record is certainly a little more vibrant, and there is more energy on this record in a live way.”
The first single on Narrow Stairs, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” is representative of Death Cab’s new sound and style. At more than eight minutes on the album, the song shows that the band isn’t afraid of long instrumental rants or longer songs in general. However, the song finds the band in an extended jam, which could be news to die-hard Death Cab fans.
“I think if you’ve been a fan of our band from the very beginning, you’ll definitely hear us taking some chances and some risks,” Harmer says about the new record.
All the way from Seattle
Death Cab for Cutie formed in the musically fertile Seattle area in 1997. Lead singer Ben Gibbard, guitarist/pianist Chris Walla and bassist Nick Harmer are all founding members. Drummer Jason McGerr joined the band before the 2003 album Transatlanticism. It is no secret that the birthplace of grunge is one of the biggest music towns in the country, and the late ’80s and early ’90s encouraged youth in the area to get involved in the scene.
“That inspired me to want to be a musician and play music, try to form bands and things like that — and I think it did for everyone in Death Cab,” Harmer says. “It seems to be a little less about competition here and a little more about support. I couldn’t be happier with my city and the community at large here.”
Death Cab released five albums and a couple of EPs on Seattle-based independent label Barsuk Records. The group built a fanbase of trendy hipsters (don’t call them emo) and traditional indie-rock fans during its early years.
The band’s music is often soft, emotional and delicate but with an epic quality. Gibbard’s soothing voice is inviting to listeners, as are his lyrics about love, happiness and heartache. Even though Death Cab is a traditional four-piece band, the musicians’ sound has depth and layers that set them apart from their four-piece peers. Over the years the band’s music has become more polished and refined but not radically different — until its latest album.
Marketing street cred
Following the critical and commercial success of Transatlanticism, Death Cab signed with Atlantic Records in 2004. For some bands, signing with a major label can lead to certain doom, but the band was ultimately pleased with the decision.
“It was as smooth as a professional transition at that level can be,” Harmer says. “We were very, very thorough and watchful about making sure that we had a good contract and that as we moved forward with Atlantic we were protected in a way that wasn’t going to come back and bite us.”
Although the signing left Death Cab with more money, it didn’t fundamentally change the band. “Yeah, we might be at studios with more microphones or able to hire an engineer to come help us work in the studio,” Harmer says. “But Chris has always produced our albums, and it’s always been the four of us sitting in a room talking about music, writing music, playing music. I don’t think that is ever going to change; I hope it never does.”
Touring and beyond
After stopping in Columbia for Summerfest, Death Cab will travel to amphitheaters and festivals around the country before it jets off to shows in Europe and Japan. “It’s exciting enough to be able to take your gear to a club downtown for a show,” Harmer says. “It’s even more exciting when you get to take your gear and go to someplace that you’ve always wanted to visit or never had the time to take a vacation there.”
In live shows, Death Cab breathes life into its songs with onstage passion and energy. Since Transatlanticism, the band has made a habit of closing with that album’s title track. But don’t expect to see that when they roll through Columbia. Death Cab’s chomping at the bit to get onstage with new songs and looking to change the old standards.
Death Cab’s members are passionate about touring and making music, but they are also active in supporting causes — political and otherwise. Most notably, in 2004, they played the Vote for Change tour and appeared on the Future Soundtrack of America compilation album to benefit MoveOn.org.
However, the musicians have no intentions of bringing those politics into their songs. “I don’t think that we will ever turn into a lyrically political band,” Harmer says. “We will all be really involved in politics and really involved in the political causes that are interesting to us as individuals and as a band. I don’t think that we are going to use Death Cab for Cutie as a platform to write music that is politically themed.”
The band has made the leap from playing small clubs in Seattle to selling out festivals — all without selling out in the process. “This is my life, and I love it right now,” Harmer says. “We’ve been a band for over 10 years now and have been touring for over six of those pretty consistently, and I haven’t even come close to reaching burnout.” V
