My Amazon Reviews: Death Cab For Cutie "Kintsugi"

Make Up For The Breakup
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Was I in your way when the cameras turned to face you?" So asks Ben Gibbard, on what feels like a break-up album. He went through a tabloid-y divorce from actress-singer Zooey Deschanel and lost Death Cab Co-founder Chris Walla as the album was being recorded. That's a pretty big pair of voids to fill. Death Cab For Cutie's rise to that challenge is "Kintsugi," maybe their sparsest album yet. The title itself refers to the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, the repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. The literal definition of making up for the breaking up.

These potent messages abound on "Kitsugi," be it the new wave-ish "The Ghosts Of Beverly Drive" to the bare bones "You've Haunted Me All My Life." But for the most part, Gibbard sings above spare guitars and lightly brushed drums. Then he gulps down a line like “You’ll never have to hear the word ‘no’/If you keep all your friends on the payroll” and you can't help but wonder if the electro-pop of "Good Help (Is So Hard To Find)" is directed towards his actress ex. There's more ex-angst here than on a Taylor Swift album, and the album revels in it.

"Kintsugi" is a varied album stylistically, if not emotionally. It harkens back to "Transatlanticism" more than the chipper "Codes and Keys," Even with the despair and emotional disrepair, the album ends on one line of hope from "Binary Sea." "There's something brilliant about to happen here," Ben croons. It's a crack in his heart that he finds a way to repair, and signs "Kistsugi" off with a glimmer of goodness yet to come. It's smooth sailing, one hopes, and Death Cab finds a way to negotiate the twists and turns like masters. All breakups should be fodder for art this good.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Death Cab For Cutie "Codes and Keys"

Minor Chords and Major Words 
 4 Out Of 5 Stars

Death Cab for Cutie do dramatic emotionalism better than just about any American Band working this turf today. Gloomy Guy Ben Gibbards still sings like a depressed teenage poet, and the rest of the band swirl behind him in a vortex of murk. "Codes and Keys" maintains the forward thinking experimentation of 2008's "Narrow Stairs," but you're still going to recognize these songs as Death Cab as soon as you hear them.

What "Codes and Keys" does do is push harder for atmosphere. The guitars are pushed back in the production to make way for webs of synthesizers and echoing keyboards. When it works, like on "Doors Unlocked and Open," you start wondering if DCFC has been poking around the Eno or Roxy Music albums. But when the decide to let guitars run the song ("You Are a Tourist," the best song here), it makes you wish they would have spent a bit more time on "Codes and Keys" being straightforward. Something they do at the album's closing, "Stay Young, Go Dancing," perhaps the first time the band has ever recorded a genuine love song.

This is easily the most convoluted production the band (and long time producer Chris Walla) have ever attempted. Ben Gibbard, in particular, is processed through all sorts of effects, not always to his benefit. The musical experimentation that led to things like the extended opening to "I Will Possess Your Heart" or the gentle "Grapevine Fires" is replaced by more atmosphere and studio gimmickry. "Codes and Keys" is still a fine album, maybe even more Postal Service than DCFC, and I hope the pull the reins back towards simplicity for the next album.