Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
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Artist: Death Cab for CutieEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2003-10-07
Music Label: Barsuk
Soundtracks:
- The New Year
- Lightness
- Title And Registration
- Expo '86
- The Sound Of Settling
- Tiny Vessels
- Transatlanticism
- Passenger Seat
- Death Of An Interior Decorator
- We Looked Like Giants
- A Lack Of Color
Music reviews of Transatlanticism
Music Review: Death Cab For Cutie- "Transatlanticism
Rating: 5 Stars
if there was an album in 2003 that so completely created a beautiful way to think about the things we take for granted, death cab for cutie's "transatlanticism" is probably it. I dont know how i would exactly classify 'transatlanticism'- it has emotionally tinged lyrics, so you might say it's emo. But the fact is, the lyrics are smarter than any song brand new will ever write (no offense meant, just trying to think of the most typical emo band i can)- and there's no punk influence. I would call this a indie-pop album, but the truth is, it has almost no subject matter that you would find in a typical pop song. i guess you would call it emo-indie-pop. But it doesn't matter what you call it, because death cab for cutie went out and released the best album of their career, and one of the best albums of 2003, period. "transatlanticism" far surpasses any of its predecessors- while the others had their moments of pure brilliance, they were often a bit scattered. But this album is so thoroughly wonderful that there is no track that i 'force' myself to listen to. The first song on the album (also the first single) is "the new year"- it's an interesting song. it's loud, and rushes out of the gate- but when ben gibbard's voice comes in, it seems so nonchalant and unforced that you wonder about how exactly he can do it. the song is a brilliant little way to get the album started. the musicianship takes front seat over the vocals- in other words, the voice is just another instrument, not the point of the song. it's a theme that runs through the entire disc.
The second track, 'lightness', gets off to a slow start, and initially did not sound very good. but if you keep listening, it blooms into a melancholy but wonderful lament.
The third track, 'title and registration', is the first real highlight of the album. it's simple one-note-at-a-time guitar pattern is beautiful and upbeat. the synth drums add a sharp edge to the song, which then breaks into ben gibbard singing "the glove compartment is inaccurately named- and everybody knows it. so i'm proposing a swift, orderly change- because behind it's door, there's nothing to keep my fingers warm. all i find are souvenirs from a better time, before the glow of your tail lights fading"- it's an offbeat way of relating that particular sentiment. the song continues to build into a wonderful, almost perfect emo-pop song.
Next, 'expo 86' is another bouncy rhythm, but somehow an upbeat compliment to the downtrodden lyrics. this was the first death cab song that i ever heard, and i was hooked instantly by it.
'the sound of settling' is a pretty good song. it's in the same ilk as the previous two tracks.
Track six is probably the highlight of the whole album- 'tiny vessels'. It is a melancholy heartbreaker, with haunting instruments, and a chorus that explodes out of a subtle verse. The lyrics speak of horrible heartbreak, but it avoids every pitfall an emo song could possibly fall into. "all i see are dark gray clouds in the distance moving closer with every hour- so, when you ask 'is there something wrong?' i think 'you're damn right there is, but we cant talk about it now", gibbard sings. it's aching, it's chilling, and it is absolutely a brilliant song.
track seven is the almost equally impressive and epic title track. it's a nearly eight minute slow burner that just keeps building up. its mostly instrumental after the first two minutes, but its hypnotic melody is absolutely beautiful. Think in the same format as weezer's "only in dreams"- but far more subtle.
the next two songs are the least listenable parts on the album; 'passenger seat' never goes anywhere. 'death of an interior decorator' was basically covered in tracks 3-5.
the next song though, 'we looked like giants'- it's an all out piano rocker that isnt piano rock. it's angry, and probably the loudest song on the album. it makes it stand out with its never settling for easy melodies or lyrics; it's just a beautiful amalgam of sound.
finally, the cd ends with the cheerfully sweet 'a lack of color'- it bounces along like, but it's simple elegance is wonderful. it is the perfect way to round out a hypnotizing, entirely amazing work of art.
definitely recommended.
Description of Transatlanticism
Japanese Version featuring a Bonus TrackWith songs equal to those on We Have the Facts and a lush, brilliant production that continues what The Photo Album started, Transatlanticism is easily Death Cab's best record to date. Much attention has duly been focused on doe-eyed singer/lyricist Ben Gibbard, co-star of the Postal Service phenomenon, and Ben's voice is as strange, beautiful, and as strong as ever on these songs, which deal with the difficulties of long-distance relationships. But guitarist/producer Chris Walla once again proves himself to be the band's secret weapon, layering subtle sonic touches throughout Transatlanticism, which is most definitely a "headphone record." This Seattle quartet is one of the only bands to really have picked up the intelligent, emotionally resonant, and guitar-driven indie-pop torch that Built to Spill briefly lit in the mid-1990s (before themselves heading off to the stoner-rock territory). DCFC themselves seem poised to finally break out to a wider audience, and they truly deserve it with this disc. --Mike McGonigal
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