Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

4.0/5
The minute I heard the first single from Narrow Stairs, "I Will Possess Your Heart", Death Cab For Cutie went from being a good band to being a great band in my eyes. I revisited some old songs that my girlfriend gave me and I realized how awesome Death Cab was, substance mixed with an innate pop sensibility. Narrow Stairs easily lives up to what people have come to expect from, arguably, the leading indie band of our time. "I Will Possess Your Heart" starts off with a 4-minute intro; some think the song is too long, but you need to feel the groove. It is a perfect song, sparse yet engaging. The song characterizes the whole feel the album: beautiful melodies mixed with lyrics full of heartache. Often those lyrics are set to bright happy-sounding songs to great effect, such as on "No Sunlight". One of the clear highlights of the album is "Grapevine Fires", another song that shows the genius of frontman and songwriter Ben Gibbard. Narrow Stairs is probably DCFC's most ambitious, guitar-fueled album yet. So far it is the best album of the year, hands down.