(Barsuk)
Death Cab for Cutie is a good band in spite of themselves. On their fifth full-length album (including a rarities and outtakes compilation), , the quartet offers up 11 tracks, a few less than their usual semblance. Some songs are reminiscent of , while others sound like a misguided attempt to grow as a band. This is not to say that growth is necessarily terrible, though too often it is considered the most necessary of evils, not allowing for true growth, only the manufactured variety.
Gone for the most part is Death Cab's discriminating precision, both lyrically and musically, as well as the inspired songwriting, in wake of, more often than not, sad-core dirging. Not that this band has ever been all smiles, but the razor has dulled with the sounds of a detached loss of creativity. The album is not without its prominent songs, but it is hard to say of what quality these songs actually are, as they stand out amongst a mosaic of stale color.
The opening track, \The New Year,"" hopes to confuse anyone listening into thinking the rest of the album is going to have anything else of comparable quality. The song is a work of pure ""start the album off rocking"" syndrome, with frenetic drumming and ample use of the infinite sustain guitar.
The next track, ""Lightness"" is 101 different songs rolled up nicely into one three-and-a-half minute exercise. The album stumbles forward with cuts not even worth mentioning, until it hits the 10th track, ""We Looked Like Giants."" This track works on all levels, from its subtle prelude into its guitar attack. Even the lyrics work this time-they're honest, with no pretense: ""When every Thursday / I'd brave those mountain passes / And you'd skip your early classes / And we'd learn how our bodies worked.""
Not surprisingly, the album closes on a gloomy note, though unlike the rest of the album's funeral hymns, this song's simplicity: acoustic guitar, tambourine and voice, amalgamate with feeling and restraint.
Ultimately, is lost in the deep dark sea of slow, sad and static. It maintains some saving graces, though few and far between. The work is a conundrum of both overbearing effort and aloof phone-ins. Staunch fans of the band will of course obtain their copy regardless of whether or not they read this. However, for the curious newcomers, the album just will not impress so do not even bother listening.
