Death Cab for Cutie's eighth studio album, Kintsugi, is set to be released on March 31st, as has been revealed in this Rolling Stone interview on January 12th. This is the first Death Cab studio album since 2011's Codes and Keys, which polarized listeners with its new approach to the renowned indie band's sound. Kintsugi is a Japanese art of fixing broken pottery so that all the cracks are visible, treating the cracks as part of the object's history and displaying them rather than hiding them. Death Cab for Cutie resonated with this philosophy as it went hand in hand with what the band is going through at the moment – founding member, guitarist and producer Chris Walla played his final show with the band last month, though he fully participated in the making of Kintsugi. Although he'd produced each Death Cab record prior, the new album is the first one not to be produced by Walla, but rather Rich Costey. Chris's decision was an amicable one and he has cited a "desire for something new" as one of his main reasons for leaving the band. For more information, you might want to read this Rolling Stone interview from October 24th last year. [thumb]http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/2015/media/180180/_original/1420841299/1035x1035-Kintsugi_Cover_HR.JPG[/thumb] Kintsugi tracklisting: 01. "No Room in Frame" 02. "Black Sun"* 03. "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" 04. "Little Wanderer" 05. "You've Haunted Me All My Life" 06. "Hold No Guns" 07. "Everything's a Ceiling" 08. "Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)" 09. "El Dorado" 10. "Ingénue" 11. "Binary Sea" *"Black Sun" has been announced to be the lead single for the album. Go here to find out how Death Cab have chosen to promote it.
Man, I should have made this thread the other day. So HYPE. I love every DCFC album except Codes and Keys. I have a feeling this one will turn it back around though. Can't wait for the album!
Though your post wasn't really a notification, thanks for letting us know the songs are available to listen to "Black Sun" is enough to tide me over for now, though. I really like this track, it's really reminiscent of The Photo Album era, and yet it still has a splash of new in it... definitely a more "down" sort of sound, especially after the feel-good sound of Codes and Keys. I found myself wishing the song would explode in the end, which it didn't... I guess I'll just have to get used to that. But all in all, I totally dig what they went for with it.
The official lyric video for "Black Sun" has been uploaded to the official Death Cab for Cutie YouTube channel. [video=youtube;46bIJJX_xzE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46bIJJX_xzE[/video] The single's cover art has also been discovered on the band's website:
Wish that breakdown was more of a step up. I like the song. Might check out the band, the singers voice fits me nice.
Don't like how the guitar from the bridge just cuts out so abruptly. Would've sounded so much better if it would have faded out.
I'm not him, but a lot of people suggest to start with Transatlantacism. EDIT: Also, I just listened to the studio version of Black Sun and I really enjoy it.
This might help you, a kind of an overview of the musical eras I feel Death Cab for Cutie have gone through: 1st era – Lo-fi, recorded on tape, somewhat distant sounding, very dear to some people even though it's not what would eventually make the band famous. Harder to get into, but eventually you may end up enjoying it as much as the rest. Includes Something About Airplanes (1998) and We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes (2000), the latter being rather mellow, and also a sort of a cult classic with some fans. 2nd era – Much clearer sounding. It isn't light years away from the 1st era, but it sounds refreshed and not like the band is in a box. More approachable and easier to listen to. Ben's imaginative and intriguing lyrics come to the forefront more, as well as the guitars. The band creates the sound that they would become known for, which they do with the follow-up to 2001's The Photo Album, Transatlanticism (2003), which is widely regarded as the band's best work. 3rd era – Encompasses only one album, 2005's Plans. The band is now on a major label and they go for a more of an acoustic pop sound whilst retaining what they are known for. Perhaps even more easily digestible, but impossible to hate, as the quality of the music remains intact. 4th era – Death Cab begin to experiment. Narrow Stairs (2008) brings back a grittier shade of the band, and adopts a new abstract one, which adds up to some of the most interesting songs the band have made in their career. In 2011, they go even further with Codes and Keys, with some surprisingly feel-good tracks as opposed to the somber and melancholic sound that they usually utilize. They also get rid of the guitars as the major driving force behind the band, the end result polarizing critics and fans alike. (Note that these two albums don't sound very similar, but I put them in the same era because of the driving experimentation.) I'd recommend The Photo Album, actually, because it's the first album that really has that Death Cab sound, and it's also free of the weight that an album like Transatlanticism has (as T. is a concept album about a long distance love.) I suppose it's one of the most accurate representations of what this band is.
Black Sun fell kind of flat for me. The instrumentation is interesting but it feels very one-note to me. Not much variation.