After the disappointment that was Plans, I was hoping that Death Cab would return to form with their new album.
Ben Gibbard, you have not let me down.
From romping and jaunty, to melodic and haunting, Narrow Stairs hits the indie rock button in pretty much every way, lyrically both pensive and carefree, and musically bold and tight. My favourites include 'No Sunlight' and 'Your New Twin Sized Bed', but it's all great tracks from start to finish.
I guess the big question is, does it surpass Transatlanticism? And you know what, it nearly does. In places it's definitely at least on par.
With a few more listens, it could even grow to be my favourite. It makes me doubly excited about the next The Postal Service album (if that's possible). Since Give Up continued a lot of the themes of Transatlanticism (e.g. Clark Gable), I'm intruiged to see if there's some similar connections. There's already a quiet nod to Jimmy on 'Pity and Fear'