Narrow Stairs | ||||
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Studio album by Death Cab for Cutie | ||||
Released | May 12, 2008 | |||
Recorded | Seattle, King, Washington, United States | |||
Genre | Indie pop, indie rock | |||
Length | 44:50 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Atlantic, Barsuk | |||
Producer | Chris Walla[1] | |||
Death Cab for Cutie chronology | ||||
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Singles from Narrow Stairs | ||||
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Narrow Stairs is the sixth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It was released on May 12, 2008, in the United Kingdom[2] and on May 13, 2008, in the United States. The first single of the album was "I Will Possess Your Heart", released on March 18, 2008. The second single was "Cath...". The album was their first to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200. Guitarist and producer Chris Walla stated, "Narrow Stairs was very much a commitment to just crashing through the songs as we recorded them, like four people in a room."[3]
Contents |
In October 2007, producer and guitarist Chris Walla said that Death Cab for Cutie's new album "is in full swing; we're six songs in". He went on to say, "thus far it's pretty weird and pretty spectacular; lots of blood. It's creepy and heavy... we've got a ten minute long Can jam, and had you suggested that possibility to me in 1998, I'd have eaten your puppy's brain with a spoon".[4] In a Billboard piece, Walla described the album: "It's really weird. It's really, really good, I think, but it's totally a curve ball, and I think it's gonna be a really polarizing record. But 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." Walla went on to say, "[It's also] louder and more dissonant and [...] I think abrasive would be a good word to use. [We were influenced by] heavy, sludgy, slow metal [and] synth-punk band Brainiac."[5] Ben Gibbard, lead singer and writer, commented, "I just don't feel like we really have anything to prove of it other than to ourselves and to making a record we really enjoy."[6]
In 2011 Walla stated, "the master plan for Narrow Stairs was to be as invisible and hands-off as a producer as I possibly could. I was really interested in seeing what would happen. When we started that record, we had been on tour for the better part of two years. All we could remember was being on stage and playing. So the whole idea was: what happens if we’re just on stage and we play, except we’re in the studio and we’re recording?"[7]
Whilst promoting the band's subsequent album, Codes and Keys (2011), Benjamin Gibbard reflected upon Narrow Stairs' lyrical content, stating, "That record is kind of a fulcrum in my life. So much of the negativity in my life got funneled into it. I realized after that I didn't want to go any darker. I wanted it to be the bottom for this band and my own emotional spectrum in terms of writing. I had no grandiose plans to turn my life around."[8]
Several of the songs have literary or cultural themes. "Grapevine Fires" appears to be centered around the wildfires that raged in California during the summer and fall of 2007.
"Bixby Canyon Bridge" is rife with references to Jack Kerouac's writing; Gibbard often notes that Kerouac is a favorite author in interviews, and the song was written during the artist's trip to Big Sur.[9] Gibbard has written lyrics about Kerouac before, including his contribution of lyrics and vocals to a song by Styrofoam titled "Couches in Alleys", and in songs "Lowell, MA" and "Title Track" from Death Cab for Cutie's 2000 album, We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes.
Unusually, the tenth song, "Pity and Fear", ends abruptly. In an interview, the band stated that the tape machine they were using broke toward the end, and they liked the sound it produced so much that they included it in the final version of the song.
The final track on the album, "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", is used in the first season finale of the television series Gossip Girl, as well as in the fourth season of reality series The Hills. The song "No Sunlight" is included in the soundtrack for Choke. "Pity and Fear" was included in the ending of an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The first track, "Bixby Canyon Bridge", was used at the end of the Friday Night Lights episode, "How the Other Side Lives".
The cover art was created by designer EE Storey, the art director for Tegan and Sara.[10]
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | 2008 |
Alternative Press | |
Blender | link |
The Guardian | 2008 |
The Independent | 2008 |
Kerrang! | |
Mojo | |
Pitchfork Media | (6.0/10) link |
Rolling Stone | 2008 |
The Times | 2008 |
The album has received mostly positive reviews. MTV's James Montgomery referred to Narrow Stairs as "unquestionably the best thing [Death Cab has] ever done".[11] Rolling Stone called the album "a dark, strangely compelling record that trades the group's bright melancholy for something nearer to despair."[12]
The album has been highly rated by critics and fans, having been awarded 4 stars out of 5 by publications such as Rolling Stone, Kerrang!, Spin, Alternative Press, The Times, The Independent and The Guardian, as well as by the website Allmusic.
TIME magazine and Consequence of Sound awarded the album a "B+" rating, with the AV Club giving an "A" rating. Positive reviews have also been given by Mojo, People, The Album Project, Patrol, AbsolutePunk and PopMatters, among several others. It has a rating of 73 on music review aggregator Metacritic.[13] Boston radio station WERS ranked Narrow Stairs as the No.8 album of 2008 based on a listener poll.
In its debut week, Narrow Stairs reached the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 144,000 copies and scoring the band its first No.1 album. One week later it fell to No.5 with 52,000 copies. As of January 31, 2009, the album has sold over 475,000 copies in the US. Narrow Stairs was certified Gold by the RIAA in February 2009, for shipments of 500,000 copies.[14]
Narrow Stairs was nominated for the "Best Alternative Music Album" award at the 51st Grammy Awards. In addition, "I Will Possess Your Heart" was nominated for "Best Rock Song".[15]
All songs written by Ben Gibbard except where noted.
The later two demos were also included on the vinyl LP edition of the album.
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
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Australian ARIA Albums Chart[16] | 6 |
Swedish Albums Chart | 16 |
UK Albums Chart | 24 |
U.S. Billboard 200[17][18] | 1 |
The album was initially released on May 12, 2008,[2] in the United Kingdom and on the following day in the United States.
Preceded by Home Before Dark by Neil Diamond |
Billboard 200 number-one album May 25–31, 2008 |
Succeeded by 3 Doors Down by 3 Doors Down |
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