Death Cab For Cutie, a quartet from the Seattle area
led by vocalist Ben Gibbard and guitarist Chris Walla, played slow,
melancholy, pensive, "textural" rock in the vein of
Built To Spill.
Something About Airplanes (Barsuk, 1999 - Sonic Boom, 2007)
was a collection of painstakingly detailed stories of alienation and defeat.
The groping instrumental dynamics of Bend To Squares
(including Erika Jacobs' strings) renders a convoluted psychology.
The limping rhythm and reverbed guitar of Champagne From A Paper Cup
exude insecurity.
Your Bruise is almost oneiric in the way it refuses to let the
melody soar.
The seven-minute lullaby Line Of Best Fit that closes the album
indulges in Neil Young-ian guitar meditations
and quasi-waltzing rhythms.
By comparison, Pictures In An Exhibition is almost
hard-rock thanks to a loud beat and gritty riff.
On the other hand, the organ-tinged President Of What? is closer to the
bubblegum ditties of the 1960s than to the noisy nightmares of the 1990s.
Musically, these two are the standouts.
Amputations too boasts a relatively melodic structure, and unusually
in a witty tone.
While much feels unfinished and unstable, the band is notable for
inventing a completely new style for each song with always inventive drumming
(Nathan Good).
We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes (Barsuk, 2000) was perhaps
less poignant but the vignettes ware no less persuasive.
A couple of streamlined structures opened to a broader audience: the
simple melodic progression of Title Track
and the upbeat aria of Little Fury Bugs.
The emotional nadir was achieved with the
suspended atmosphere of The Employment Pages,
the anemic singalong of 405
and the even more dejected litany of No Joy In Mudville.
The band only left their emotional embrio for the
relatively aggressive and electronic For What Reason, the
quasi-grunge Company Calls and the feverish closer
Scientist Studies.
The EP
The Forbidden Love (2000) invested on the melodic/atmospheric side
of the equation, yielding the charmingly harmless Photobooth.
Sadly,
The Photo Album (Barsuk, 2001), which is truly a journey album,
was simply a disappointment.
Why You'd Want to Live Here and We Laugh Indoors are deeply felt
and mildly entertaining. However, most of the songs sound simply like leftovers
from the previous album (albeit occasionally brilliant ones, such as
A Movie Script Ending, that sounds like a cubistic remix
of Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me)
or self-indulgent whines (Steadier Footing).
The band Cutie simulateously released the
EP The Stability (Barsuk, 2002), which contains the
(far superior) 13-minute slo-core opus Stability.
You Can Play These Songs With Chords (Barsuk, 2002)
collects a 1997 cassette, plus rare and unreleased material.
Ben Gibbard's side project, All-Time Quarterback (Barsuk, 2002), which
collects 1999 material originally released on an EP and a cassette, is devoted
to classy lo-fi, the kind that only a real talent can concoct.
Underwater and Plans Get Complex are pleasant and intelligent,
while Cleveland, Empire State and Rules Broken manage
to be intriguing despite their simplicity.
Postal Service's Give Up (Subpop, 2003)
is a collaboration between Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel.
Their tuneful eccentric ditties redefine synth-pop (their classic
Such Great Heights,
We Will Become Silhouettes).
The male-female duet in Nothing Better is particularly noteworthy.
The arrangements and the dynamics are original enough to sustain any
melodic construct.
Despite the sophisticated arrangements,
Transatlanticism (Barsuk, 2003) is a distant relative of their best
albums. Except for the vigorous existential
The New Year and the noisy ranting We Looked Like Giants,
the sound is unfocused and the songs are bland.
Even the eight-minute Transatlanticism cannot fully take advantage of
the hypnotic atmosphere that the instruments create
(piano, industrial percussion, evocative synthesizer, psychedelic guitar).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Walter Romano)
I Death Cab For Cutie sono un quartetto dell’area di Seattle, guidati dal cantante Ben Gibbard e dal chitarrista Chris Walla, che suona un rock lento, melanconico, alla maniera dei Built To Spill. Something About Airplanes (1999) è una raccolta di storie di alienazione e sconfitta (Your Bruise, Champagne From A Paper Cup).
We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes (2000) è forse meno emozionante, ma le canzoni non sono meno convincenti (405, Company Calls, e la title track).
Purtroppo The Photo Album (2001), che è davvero un album di viaggio, è semplicemente una delusione. Why You'd Want to Live Here e We Laugh Indoors sono profondamente sentite e piuttosto divertenti. Ma comunque molte canzoni sembrano semplicemente scarti dell’album precedente (a parte qualcuna più brillante, come A Movie Script Ending), o lamenti autoindulgenti (Steadier Footing).
La band Cutie realizzò l’EP The Stability (2002), che contiene l’opera slo-core (molto superiore) Stability (13 minuti).
You Can Play These Songs With Chords (2002) raccoglie una cassetta del 1997, più materiale raro e inedito.
Il progetto parallelo di Ben Gibbard, All-Time Quarterback (2002), che raccoglie materiale del 1999 edito originariamente su un EP e una cassetta, è lo-fi di classe, di quello che solo un vero talento può realizzare. Underwater e Plans Get Complex sono piacevoli e intelligenti, mentre Cleveland, Empire State e Rules Broken risultano intriganti nonostante la loro semplicità.
Give Up (2003), dei Postal Service, è una collaborazione tra Ben Gibbard e Jimmy Tamborello dei Dntel. Le loro canzoni eccentriche e melodiose ridefiniscono il synth-pop (Such Great Heights, We Will Become Silhouettes). Il duetto maschile-femminile in Nothing Better è particolarmente degno di nota. L’arrangiamento e i ritmi sono abbastanza originali per sostenere ogni costrutto melodico.
Transatlanticism (2003) è un lontano parente dei loro album migliori. Eccetto le inneggianti The New Year e We Looked Like Giants, il suono è vago e le canzoni sono blande. Anche Transatlanticism (8 minuti) non trae appieno vantaggio dall’ossessionante atmosfera creata dagli strumenti.
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