Stairway To Heaven4 Out of 5 Stars
For all their reputation as sensitive emo-types mooning over teen-angst TV shows, the 2008 release from Death Cab For Cutie is almost anything but that stereotype. While the songs here follow Cab Leader Ben Gibbard through his lyrical trials of broken relationships ("Your New Twin Sized Bed") and the girl that got away ("Cath"), the trickier parts of "Narrow Stairs" have so many other things going for it. This is a climb into a dark room, and a very effective one.
The most affected sign of this is the long, obtuse "I Will Possess Your Heart." A near paranoid rant about getting you whether you like it or not (also see "Every Breath You Take") builds to the first verse after more than four minutes of tense instrumental buildup. I'm not claiming DCfC are the new Yes, but this is bordering on prog-rock territory. I'm also more than inclined to like "Grapevine Fires," a folkish tale of watching the western forest fires in both fear and awe, marveling at nature's force and the nature of love.
"We bought some wine and some paper cups
Near your daughters school when we picked her up
And drove to a cemetery on a hill, On a hill
And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray
But she laughed and danced through the field of graves
And there I knew it would be alright."
Gibbard is stretching himself lyrically through "Narrow Stairs," and unlike Plans, he's shooting for something other than frothy angst flavored milkshakes. It makes this CD their best yet.
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