One quality that helps a band achieve longevity is an ability to change while retaining signature elements. With “Narrow Stairs,” Death Cab For Cutie’s sixth record — and first since 2005 major-label breakthrough “Plans” — the Washington state outfit does just that. Ben Gibbard’s voice is still forlorn, but he’s looser and less cloying. Lush soundscapes and build-ups are still important, but the bass and drums take on a greater role. It all makes for an album with a feel and pace that will challenge longtime fans without alienating them.
The opener “Bixby Canyon Bridge” sets the stage, treading lightly at first with Gibbard’s choppy singing and quietly inviting guitar before pounding drums signal a mood shift. Nick Harmer’s bass is all over the place, Jason McGerr’s drums are positively propulsive and Gibbard’s and Chris Walla’s guitars are layered perfection.
“I Will Possess Your Heart” is more than eight minutes long, epic by any standard. Bass and drums again form a rock-solid, authoritative foundation, and Gibbard’s piano melds with some meandering guitar and vibraphone during a moody, lengthy intro; nearly five minutes pass before the vocals begin, Gibbard singing: “How I wish you could see the potential/ The potential of you and me.” There’s a lot of twists and turns throughout the track, more a portrait of an obsessed stalker than a love song.
“No Sunlight” clocks in at only two minutes and 40 seconds and is a nice palette cleanser after the complexity of “Possess.” It’s a well-crafted, sunny pop song that wouldn’t have fit on “Plans,” but it works here. The transcendent “Cath” is another standout, conjuring Built To Spill with some tricky math-rock workouts. “Talking Bird” is a sludgy dirge, and “You Can Do Better Than Me” is richly textured, featuring timpani, sleigh bells and some drummer-boy snare drum work. This song, as well as the chugging “Long Division” with its tinges of piano and guitar jangle, are worthy of a Wilco album.
“The Ice Is Getting Thinner,” the 11th and final track, is sleepy, introspective and a bit underwhelming, but it serves as a suitable capstone for an album that shows us that Death Cab these days is a mainstream commodity, but more important, a continued, evolving source of deep, emotional and multifaceted tunes. w