Death Cab For Cutie slowly but surely gained a good reputation with the alternative music lover with intelligent and well-kept indie pop. On their sixth album Narrow Stairs the group from Washington sounds more urgent than ever. The sound is darker, and the band takes more musical freedom. The opener features ominous electronics, and the second track starts with a slowly constructed instrumental
… piece. The songs that follow - and that are more in line with previous work by the group - are also given a driven performance. But this time too it is the high voice and intriguing lyrics of singer and frontman Ben Gibbard that makes the music definitely rise above itself. A nice balance has been found on Narrow Stairs: progress while maintaining recognisability. The album came out of nothing at the top of the Billboard album chart. (MS)more
