Quoted From Barsuk.com -
'' Death Cab for Cutie originally formed in Bellingham, WA, in 1997 with their casette-only Elsinor Records release, you can play these songs with chords (later expanded and reissued by Barsuk on CD). The group, which appropriated its name from a song title by '60s UK rock ensemble The Bonzo Dog Band, has consistently released outstanding albums over the years, gaining a wider audience and fanbase with successful US and international tours, and seeping into the consciousness of mainstream America with the success of their latest albums and frequent mentions on the hit TV show, The O.C. None of this attention, however, has changed Ben Gibbard's emotionally powerful songwriting skills or the warm production of Chris Walla, except that both keep getting better and better over time. ''
Death Cab For Cutie are:
Benjamin Gibbard
Nick Harmer
Jason McGerr
Chris Walla
1) 20th Century Towers (4.36) - Its rare that i've found and EP that opens with such a slow song. Coming in at 4.36, the song is powered heavily by the interlinking guitars following an unusual pattern. Ben's voice seems to quiver over the light slow tapping of the drums symbol in the background aswell. The song itself is all very slow and can drag on a bit, but around the 3 minute mark, the band comes together to give a nice line of '' All Around '' together. Works very well (Y). Its not like most of death cabs fast-paced happy songs, but if you love their slow ones this will be a hit for you. 4/5
2) All Is Full Of Love (3.17) - Originaly done by Bjork. i hav'nt heard the cover so i cant make a comparisson, although i'm sure it would be good. The song consists of a fast drum beat in the background and a simple guitar riff throughout. Ben's vocals are as good as ever, but the backing effect in certain parts works so well with the quiery, quiet line of 'All Is Full Of Love'. It then builds up and the instumental becomes louder, as does the backing vocals, until finaly it all stops apart from Ben's voice continuing the line 'All Is Full Of love' and then the drums kick back in and some guitar is flashed over at odd points. To be honest it took me a while to get into this track, and i'm still not a big fan. Maybe because its not hugely like Death Cabs other work. Nevertheless, it is still an average track. 3.5/5
3) Stability (12.21) - the title track off the album coming in at a whopping 12.21. To all of the modern day Death Cab fans, you might recognize this as the recent song off Plans, 'The Stable Song'. But This was the original. This is the song on the E.P. which is probably most likely to scare people off, mainly because of the duration. A nice 30 or so secong intro gives the song an automatic good feel about it, but it is then acompanied by a very basic bass and guitar tune, and a simple drum beat. But this is irrelevant as Bens lyrics seem to pull it all together. A little further into the song, as it starts to reach the peak of the song, at times the guitar tunes seem to get a bit faster and more intricate, and at around 2.20 it starts to reach its peak. With the band all singing 'I Won't Mind' a couple of times, you realise that this part is almost over. The symbols seem to fade the guitars and bass out and then it starts to get a little boring in my opinion. Basic drum beats, single notes on the bass every now and then and a little bit of finger picking here and there. Oh, and Ben seems to sing a little of the earlier lyrics in the background a little, and it continues like that for a long time. Overall i'd give the track a 4/5 because even if it does have a long outro (a very long outro) the first part of the song makes up for that.
Pro's
+ Explores many different techniques.
+ Simply beautiful songs.
+ Ben's voice is worked very well.
Con's
- The long duration of the title track.
So overall, this (in my opinion) is a good release. Not consisting of any majorly happy songs, it still has a nice Death Cab feel to it. If your used to Death Cab's happy songs then i'd give you a heads up to maybe avoid this 3 track, but if your a fan of most of the stuff you've heard from the band, i'd say give it a try.
Final Rating - 4/5
