Death Cab for Cutie

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This article is about the band. For the song sung by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band that inspired the band's name, see Death Cab for Cutie (song).
Death Cab for Cutie
The band performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006.
The band performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006.
Background information
Origin Bellingham, Washington, United States
Genre(s) Indie rock
Indie pop
Years active 1997–present
Label(s) Atlantic Records
Barsuk Records
Associated acts ¡All-Time Quarterback!
The Postal Service
Website Official website
Members
Ben Gibbard
Chris Walla
Nicholas Harmer
Jason McGerr
Former members
Nathan Good
Michael Schorr

Death Cab for Cutie (or Death Cab) is an American indie pop rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band takes its name from a satirical song of the same name.[1][2]

Death Cab for Cutie began as a solo project of Ben Gibbard, now the band's vocalist and guitarist. The band's first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, was released as a demo, leading to a record deal with Barsuk Records.[3] It was at this time that Gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band, and recruited band members to join. The band has released eight albums to date. Their most recent album, Narrow Stairs, was released on May 12, 2008 in the United Kingdom[4] and was released on May 13, 2008 in the United States.

In addition to Death Cab for Cutie, Gibbard and guitarist Chris Walla are both involved in side projects. Gibbard formed the band "The Postal Service" with Jimmy Tamborello and released the album Give Up in 2003. Walla has also released solo work under the name of Martin Youth Auxiliary.

Contents

[edit] Band history

[edit] Early years (1997–2004)

Death Cab for Cutie began as a solo project of Ben Gibbard while he was the guitar player for the band Pinwheel and was recording under the name All-Time Quarterback. As Death Cab for Cutie, Gibbard released a cassette titled You Can Play These Songs with Chords; the release was surprisingly successful and Gibbard decided to expand the band into a complete project. He recruited Chris Walla (who had also worked on the cassette) as a guitarist, Nick Harmer as bass guitarist, and Nathan Good to play drums.[5] Death Cab for Cutie was officially formed at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, and lyrics from early songs include local references that were important to the band's development.[2] Many of the early songs were recorded in the basement of an Ellis Street home Gibbard lived in with several roommates in Bellingham.[6]

The four released the LP Something About Airplanes on August 18, 1998. The album was favorably reviewed in the independent music scene and in 2000 the band released We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes. Nathan Good left the band at some point during this album's production. His playing on “The Employment Pages” and “Company Calls Epilogue” was kept, but Gibbard played drums on all other songs.[5] Good's replacement Michael Schorr would first appear on The Forbidden Love EP, released on October 24, 2000. In 2001, another LP was released, entitled The Photo Album. Limited editions of this album contained three bonus tracks, which were later released separately as The Stability EP.[7]

In 2003, there was another change of drummer, with Jason McGerr of Eureka Farm replacing Schorr. McGerr would play drums on the next release, Transatlanticism,[5] which was released in October 2003.[5] Tracks from the album appeared in the soundtracks of the television shows The O.C.,[2] Six Feet Under, CSI: Miami and Californication. The 2005 movies Wedding Crashers and Mean Creek also included album tracks. In spring of 2004, the band recorded a live EP titled The John Byrd EP, named for their sound engineer. The EP was released on Barsuk Records in March 2004.[5]

[edit] Signing to Atlantic (2004–2006)

Ben Gibbard performing at the Street Scene music festival in San Diego.
Ben Gibbard performing at the Street Scene music festival in San Diego.

In November 2004, Death Cab for Cutie signed a “long-term worldwide deal” with Atlantic Records,[8] leaving their long-time label Barsuk Records. Gibbard stated on the official website that nothing would change except that "next to the picture of Barsuk holding a "7", there will be the letter "A" on both the spine and back of our upcoming albums."[9] After signing to Atlantic, the band was still nervous about corporate economics, and encouraged fans to download its songs from the Internet.[10]

The first and second singles off the band's Atlantic Record release Plans were Soul Meets Body and “Crooked Teeth”, respectively (which they performed on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2006[11]). The full album was released in August 2005. Plans was wildly received by critics and fans,[12][13] and received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album of 2005. It achieved Gold Status in 2006 after charting on Billboard for 47 consecutive weeks and was certified platinum by the RIAA at the beginning of May in 2008.[14]

The band released a touring DVD titled Drive Well, Sleep Carefully, in 2005. Known for their contributions to animal rights, the band is supporting the activist group PETA in giving away copies of the DVD to promote animal rights.[15] In early 2006, the band announced the upcoming release of Directions, eleven short films inspired by songs from the Plans album, each directed by a different person. The videos were posted one at a time at the band's website and the DVD went on sale April 11, 2006. The iTunes Store began selling the videos (formatted for iPod) early on March 28, 2006. Lance Bangs, P.R. Brown, Ace Norton, Jeffrey Brown, Lightborne, Autumn de Wilde, Rob Schrab, Laurent Briet and Monkmus, as well as Aaron Stewart-Ahn, are among directors that have contributed to the project. An episode of MTV2's Subterranean played these videos for the whole hour plus discussion with members of the band.[16] In 2006, the band made their first appearance at Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit. The band completed their lengthy 2006 tour of the USA on December 10, 2006, finishing with a show at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.[17]

[edit] Narrow Stairs (2007–2008)

Main article: Narrow Stairs

Walla claimed on October 18, 2007 that the new album was "in full swing" and that they had six songs completed.[18] He went on to call the new music "weird", "spectacular", and "creepy", saying that it contained "lots of blood".[18] He noted that the album had a "can jam" that lasted 10 minutes, which Walla said that he would have never imagined doing in 1998.[18] The new album, titled Narrow Stairs, was released on May 12, 2008. In a recent Billboard piece, the band promised the album to be a "curve ball", and, though it will have slower songs, they are promising some surprises. Walla said, "I'm really excited about it. It's really got some teeth. The landscape of the thing is way, way more lunar than the urban meadow sort of thing that has been happening for the last couple of records."[19] Walla also adds that the album is "louder and more dissonant and... abrasive." They claim that they were influenced by heavy metal music and "synth-punk band Brainiac."[19]

The band released the first single from the album,"I Will Possess Your Heart", on March 18, 2008.[20] It was met with plaudits from the band's official fan club, the DCFC Union, as well as some concern from more casual fans, saying the musical introduction, though powerful and emotive with the driving bass line, was too long. The radio edit version does not include the extended introduction. In an album review, MTV writer James Montgomery said that although "Death Cab for Cutie had gone insane," he also believes that it could make "an early contender for the best album of 2008." He also said that "Narrow Stairs is a great album, one that could make them very famous, but could very well also kill their careers." [21] The album was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

[edit] Musical style

Death Cab for Cutie's music is typically described as indie.[22] The band's music has been described as "a literate, whispery style, the kind of stuff that normally sounds better in headphones than in large venues".[23] Gibbard's voice has also been described as "plaintive boy-next-door"[24] and that his high tenor voice is "remarkable, vulnerable, and Zen-like".[13]

Rolling Stone reviewed Transatlanticism and commented that it was "melodic, melancholy songs about feeling both smart and confused, hopelessly romantic but wary of love."[24] The album has also been described as "perfectly paced song cycles about love wracked by distance and time's march."[13] Entertainment Weekly commented on the music on the album, Plans, saying, "The lush arrangements are long on hothouse organs and pianos, but short on the squirmy guitars and squirrelly beats that, on Gibbard's best work, offset his sweet voice and borderline-maudlin poetics with a sense of emotional danger."[13]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Death Cab for Cutie discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Green, Alissa (2004-10-25). The Daily sits down with Death Cab bassist Harmer. The Tufts Daily. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ a b c Harrington, Richard (2005-10-21). Death Cab, Full Speed Ahead. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  3. ^ Mitchum, Rob (November 25, 2002). You Can Play These Songs with Chords Review. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  4. ^ Death Cab For Cutie Announce UK Shows. XFM. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  5. ^ a b c d e Ankeny, Jason (2005). Death Cab for Cutie - Biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  6. ^ Shank, Craig (2006-12-12). George Drake's Interview with Chris Walla. WIUX-LP. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  7. ^ Young, Ian. "CD REVIEW: Death Cab for Cutie's 'Something About Airplanes'", Daily Trojan, 1999-04-12. Retrieved on 2008-04-26. 
  8. ^ Horwitz, Carolyn (November 13, 2004). Death Cab For Cutie Signs To Atlantic. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  9. ^ Scanlon, Tom (December 24, 2004). A very good year for Seattle-bred music. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  10. ^ Bendery, Jennifer (2005-10-24). Movin' on Up (Without Sellin' on Out): An Interview with Jason Castro. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  11. ^ SNL Episode. SNL Archives (2006-01-14). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  12. ^ Clarke, Betty (2005-08-26). Death Cab for Cutie, Plans. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  13. ^ a b c d Hermes, Will. Plans (2005). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  14. ^ Daly, Sean (2006-02-08). And the winners will be .... St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  15. ^ Death Cab Brakes for Animals. Spin (2006-01-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  16. ^ Playlists. altmusictv. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  17. ^ Jasmin, Ernest A. (2006-01-06). I'm seeing ... a rockin' 2006; What's ahead in the South Sound? Our music critic takes a look at the great moments to watch for in 2006.. The News Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  18. ^ a b c Thompson, Paul (2007-10-16). Death Cab's Chris Walla: Threat to Homeland Security?. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  19. ^ a b Cohen, Jonathan; Graff, Gary (2008-01-04). Death Cab Throwing A 'Curve Ball' On New Album. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  20. ^ I Will Possess Your Heart, New Tour Dates. Death Cab for Cutie (2008-03-18). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  21. ^ Montgomery, James (2008-03-05). Death Cab For Cutie Make The Leap With Narrow Stairs, In Bigger Than The Sound. MTV. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  22. ^ Moore, John. "Indie road clear sailing for Death Cab for Cutie", Denver Post, 2001-03-19, p. E-03. 
  23. ^ Harrison, Crayton. "Death Cab for Cutie electrifies", Dallas Morning News, 2006-04-01. 
  24. ^ a b Transatlanticism. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Death Cab for Cutie
Ben Gibbard · Nick Harmer · Jason McGerr · Chris Walla
Nathan Good · Michael Schorr
Albums
EPs
Singles
Other releases
Filmography
Drive Well, Sleep Carefully · Directions
Related articles