Right after this album came out, I took it to NY with me, and it became my soundtrack for the week.
The band does its first really different work since their inception, focusing more on softer songs, and more varied tonal patterns. The album does get back to some of the rocking of their past, in songs like "Expo '86" and "The Sound of Settling," but those moments are layered in between the soft-spoken suggestions of songs like "The New Year" and "A Lack of Color." The title track is an 8-minute epic (and not the last one the band will do...), building as steadily as bricks, and never quite reaching a breaking point that could really explode and rock. And perhaps that's the biggest flaw of the album: in an attempt to grow, the band grew quieter, and frankly, duller. Also, Gibbard's vocals get as sugary sweet as they can, which make for easy hooks, working for the more upbeat songs, and even "The New Year," but the pop in his voice and the darkness of, say, "Lightness" (no pun intended), seem at odds.
I still have sentimental feelings for this album, and I feel like, despite its weaknesses, is the strongest Death Cab album to date, and the most recognizable. But, after Narrow Stairs, I'm sure the band is only trucking deeper and deeper into this vague notion called "maturity."
Rating: 7/10
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