Review: Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Label: Atlantic

Released: May 13, 2008

You and I are about to engage in the most intimate act that a critic and a reader can share: the record review. But before the door closes behind us and I lift my shirt to reveal four stars tattooed on my chest, you need to know a secret that will color every word of this review.

You need to know that I love Death Cab for Cutie.

If I had to pick the best band of the past decade, Death Cab would probably be my choice. The 2003 album Transatlanticism is a masterpiece that can connect with a troubled 14-year-old boy as effortlessly as it can reach out to a 40-year-old housewife. 2005's Plans doesn't take as many risks musically, but it's a simple and charming gem.

DCfC albums take a while to sneak up on me, though, and Narrow Stairs is no exception. Death Cab tends to hide little presents in the dark spaces of their music, which makes it difficult to critique their albums after a few quick listens. Sure, I've made some initial observations, like the fact that the band is taking more musical chances and Chris Walla's production is a bit more urgent than usual. This album is obsessed with the failures of uninspired relationships, and though that's not new territory for Death Cab, lyricist Ben Gibbard delves deeper into the subject than he has before.

Death Cab's greatest strength lies in Gibbard's lyrics. The man can take simple words and use them to paint portraits. He's subtle about it, though. Most lyricists beat you over the head with how smart they are, but Gibbard... he just paints the scene and trusts that you'll see it. It takes a brave artist to do that.

Like I said, DCfC albums take a while to sneak up on me. I haven't had this CD long enough to see all of Gibbard's pictures, but I have a pretty good idea they're there. For now, I'll reservedly give it eight out of ten; it's very good, but it doesn't have the broad appeal of their last two records. But ask me again in a few months, and I may tell you it deserves a perfect 10/10. It all depends how many more gifts are hidden in the dark spaces of Narrow Stairs.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

I don't have faith in Rush...

On Rush's new album, Snakes & Arrows, they have a song called "Faithless." It's a bit of light fare typical of their output over the last 20 years, not particularly good and not particularly bad. It contains the following lines:

I don't have faith in faith
I don't believe in belief
You can call me faithless
I still cling to hope
And I believe in love
And that's faith enough for me

Personally, I'm half sympathetic to the extent faith and belief are abstracts that aren't important without the more concrete love and hope. It's similar to the old theological argument of "salvation by faith" versus "salvation by works" and Peart shows himself to be a bit of a lightweight in this area by suggesting that only the works matter without regard to a broader consciousness in which to frame them. That's okay though. They're rock lyrics and shouldn't be expected to be philosophically complete. The real trouble that I have with them strictly as lyrics is that they seem like empty words, similar to the abstract concepts about which they complain.

In contrast, John Lennon expressed a similar sentiment with these words in his song, "God":

I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-Ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don' believe in Tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that's reality

Frankly, I'm uncomfortable with some of what Lennon says here, but the way he says it touches me. It's warm and real, because he ties it into more than just abstract ideas, he ties it to himself. John Lennon said a lot that I find to be half-baked gibber-jabber that people only listened to because he was a Beatle, but while I don't sympathize with all he says in "God," I believe him when he says it. I can't say that about Rush. Maybe Neil Peart should have stuck to writing about By-Tor and the Snow Dog.