It's been nearly 4 years since Death Cab have treated us to any new material, and the slow but steady hype leading to the release of Codes & Keys has certainly kept many people eager for it. The Washington boys intrigued our ears with the two teaser tracks You Are A Tourist and Home Is A Fire, but now that we have the whole product, was it worth the wait?In a simple answer - I'm not sure. Ben Gibbard assured us for months that this record would be taking a new direction, their least "guitar-based" album yet. And he's right. There's a massive deviation from the 'pop' genre (most evident on Doors Unlocked and Unobstructed Views) that the band had employed in Narrow Stairs, and for that point it is a refreshing sound for fans, but there seems to be something missing.
Walla is superb as ever, the layers of instrumentation are smooth and intelligent, Gibbard's vocals still sound quirky and endearing like before - so what is it? My best stab at an answer is the arrangement, or rather lack of it. The tracks seem to meander rather incoherently without a direction or a purpose, and for that reason it puts the record off its spiritual course. There are generic Death Cab tracks, synth-based instrumentals, bluesy numbers... Which, as tracks on their own sound great, but as record seem a bit out of place.
Don't get me wrong, there are glorious moments in this record. The uplifting acoustics of Stay Young, Go Dancing are a signature of Death Cab's wonderful songwriting originality, and the dreamy essence of Some Boys reminds of us why many fans fell in love with them in the first place - but as a whole, it just doesn't deliver the winning formulae that a lot of people had been hoping for.
It's certainly worth downloading or ordering by all means, and no self-respecting Death Cab fan would fail to have already done so, but just don't expect their greatest work yet... That still remains firmly in 2003.
To buy the album for £7.99, visit HMV's website HERE
Visit Death Cab's website HERE for more goodies and the like, including new tour dates
K
Their albums change, which is good. There are interesting bits in all of them and I disagree that their hands-down best was in 2003.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually buy albums online.
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law plays them all the time
ReplyDeleteI am liking the album, perhaps it's a grower... Time will tell
ReplyDelete