Amazon.com: After relentless touring, performances on Saturday Night Live, and appearing on the cover of Spin and Paste Magazines, Death Cab for Cutie brings us Narrow Stairs. Following up their DVD collection, Directions, which sold over 30,000 copies and their platinum selling album, Plans, was no easy task but Narrow Stairs has already been praised by MTV.com as the band’s most daring and adventurous effort to date.
Amazon.co.uk: Narrow Stairs might be the first album recorded by Death Cab for Cutie since Ben Gibbard's former solo project went unexpectedly stratospheric, but Gibbard hasn't let it go to his head. Oh, OK, maybe a little: lead-off single "I Will Possess Your Heart" is an eight minute jam that speeds off on one long, luminous curve before Gibbard's distinctive vocals swing in, sweet and plaintive as ever. Even when indulging their grander visions, though, Death Cab for Cutie are still familiar as the same band that wrote those fragile, winsome songs back before teen drama The OC came knocking. Never knowingly overstated, built from driving rhythms, flourishes of piano and intricate melodies, Narrow Stairs builds grand, emotionally loaded narratives from small, subtle parts. "Your New Twin Sized Bed" hides a deftly articulated tale of heartbreak and loneliness amidst soothing tangles of guitar, while "You Can Do Better than Me" is a sweet miniature that's part Pet Sounds orchestration, part wistful Dear John. This isn't, as Gibbard would previously hint, a dissonant or especially adventurous album. It proves, however, that Death Cab can extend their scope without diluting the pathos or energy of their music, and it not only sounds great, but bodes well for the future. --Louis Pattison
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - a breath of fresh air!!!
I'm not a huge fan of Deathcab but got somewhat hooked on their single "soul meets body" which is a great song hardcore fan or not. I was disappointed listening to "Plans" to find out nothing on the rest of that album was as good as that single or remotely as upbeat. I just thought that it was decidely too melancholy for me. So it came as a sort a shock when i heard the opening songs "Bixby Canyon" and "I will posess your heart". "I will posess your heart" has no lyrics except a couple of lines that the singer repeats like a mantra and it's indulgently long for todays standards. It doesn't ... Read More
Rating: - Very unique band
This band is unique. This isn't music I would blast in my car because most people would think I'm gay, but I enjoy it a lot. It's a guilty pleasure. This band is talented and this is a great album.
Rating: - Worth the buy
Let's make this short and sweet. I really didn't know what to think about this cd when I bought it. I guess I just wasn't feeling DCFC as much with their newer stuff. But this Cd wasn't bad at all. It has a few catchy tunes and made it worth the buy. Need I say more?
Rating: - Made for Me (and you)
I've liked Death Cab ever since my friend introduced me to them in '04 which is a litte late in the game I confess but a fan is a fan. This album seems like a follow-up to The Photo Album rather than Plans. Grapevine Fires has to be one of their best songs to date. I recommend this album to anyone.
Rating: - A Great Band DCFC is, Really
I've been a fan of this band for quite some time now and since have found out that singer Ben Gibbard and the band have been making music for almost a decade. He is a true artist in the indie-rock fashion, but did get more "mainstream" recognition with their 2005 release of "Plans". It even got a Grammy nomination and much heavy rotation on radio airwaves everywhere.
"Narrow Stairs" is slightly different from the more pop under-toned "Plans" with it's darker tone and slight sad with songs like "Pity and Fear" and "The Ice Is Getting Thinner". I also liked "I Will Possess Your Heart" ... Read More
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