


It helps to have a significant other that realises that when we go on tour, it’s not like Motley Crue!”Īfter recently completing the electronically-tinged record Give Up in the guise of The Postal Service, alongside producer and DJ, Dntel, Gibbard fully subsumed himself into songwriting as his sole occupation, and committed to completing a song-per-day. “It’s like, well you grow with people when you share similar experiences, so when we spend all of our time out here, it’s hard to relate to people back home that don’t relate to what you do.” Ben explained to IGN.

This idea was partially inspired by Gibbard’s own experiences of trying to keep in touch with his then-girlfriend while touring the band’s previous record. We had to really recommit to the idea of what this was and what we wanted to accomplish.”Įncamping in Walla’s Hall of Justice recording studios, Gibbard’s ideas were collectively rooted in a core thematic narrative, that of maintaining a relationship across a vast distance. “ was arguably the most difficult period in this band’s history.” Gibbard told Spin, “We almost broke up a couple of times. Unlike the sessions for The Photo Album, which had been tightly scheduled and stressful, the four decided that the next record should be allowed to grow organically over a leisurely six-month period. They were on a path to the record that would provide Death Cab with the leg up they were now clearly ready for.
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Though singles A Movie Script Ending and We Laugh Indoors hadn’t really made a dent on the charts – or the public consciousness – the album’s sound and moderate success dictated the path ahead. The Photo Album certainly sounded more refined than previous work, with Walla’s aptitude for production strengthened following the founding of his Seattle-based ‘Hall of Justice’ recording studios. By this point, the group had settled into an effective musical niche, with emotive guitar, piano and lyricism at its centre, with only occasional forays into the type of distorted heavy rock that many of their indie rock peers leaned on. Albeit, one that very few people heard at the time.īy 2001, Death Cab had undergone several key changes, particularly the addition of Jason McGerr on percussion after the departure of Nathan Good (and his replacement Michael Schorr), following third record The Photo Album.

Follow-up We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes continued to solidify the band’s sound, and was soon considered by many in-the-know to be the troupe’s first bona-fide classic. It was a shaky debut, but it bore evidence of the band’s latent talents, particularly Gibbard’s aptitude for striking lyricism coalescing with Walla’s considered application of sweet guitar hooks. Instead of recording in a studio, the band’s material was thinly tracked and produced by Chris Walla at home with a vintage eight-track Tascam 80-8 reel-to-reel. Released in 1998, Death Cab’s debut Something About Airplanes was put out by independent Seattle label Barsuk Records.
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Gibbard’s new creative mothership was dubbed ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ – a nod to the Elvis pastiche that a terrifying Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performed at the end of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour – Gibbard soon expanded his project into a full band, enlisting fellow Western Washington University students Chris Walla, Nick Harmer and Nathan Good on guitar, bass and drums respectively.
