Death Cab for Cutie:
Death Cab were my most pleasant discovery of last year. They’re back for a return visit in 2000
and will probably land in my year-end top 10 yet again. We Have the Facts... was released
this past spring and the band has a new accompanying EP out that is well worth finding. The
full-length abounds in catchy tunes that are a bit less over-winding than those that appeared on
last year’s Something about Airplanes. In other words, the vestiges of Built to Spill are
totally stripped away to the added benefit of the songs. Ben Gibbard’s voice is inviting and his
lyrics make you listen closer to the stories he’s telling -- usually about my favorites: love and
loss. The seductively simple circular chord progression of "405" mirrors the narrator’s
aimlessness of driving drunk on a circumferential interstate pondering the lost "you." All of a
sudden, it’s not so simple anymore.
The album’s linchpin is the back-to-back diptych "Company Calls" and "Company Calls Epilogue."
Employing overused business buzzwords to define a relationship ("let’s cut our losses at both ends"),
the setting is the emotional poverty a paycheck is really worth since we all know what money
can’t buy. In the epilogue, the narrator receives an invitation to an ex’s wedding and looks
forward to getting "dressed up for free drinks and family greetings." One trip to the
complimentary bar leads to many and all of sudden he’s "crashing through parlor doors" demanding
to know how the bride feels before launching into a too-late admission: "You were the one, but I
can’t spit it out when the date’s been set." A stunner.
The EP collects three new songs, including the winning "Photobooth" about a summer affair, as
well as an acoustic version of "405" and an alternate take on "Company Calls Epilogue." Well
worth the extra splurge. Ratings: We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes -- 8;
Forbidden Love EP -- 8. --Tim Frommer
We have the Facts and We're Voting Yes; The Forbidden Love EP (Barsuk)
your
shot
Think you can do better? Email us your pithy comments on the
cd's and shows we
review, and the lists and essays we write.
We'll publish excerpts in future editions...