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| Narrow Stairs | 
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| Artist: Death Cab For Cutie
Label: Atlantic
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $7.54
You Save: $11.44 (60%)
New (51) Used (24) from $7.54
Avg. Customer Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 28
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 452796
UPC: 075678994654
EAN: 0075678994654
ASIN: B0017I1RH4
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Still factory-sealed, case has lots of cracks/damage; CD guaranteed
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| Customer Reviews:
 Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs 6/10 July 24, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Well, no one can accuse Death Cab for Cutie of selling out. While their last album, Plans, had many questioning Ben Gibbard and company's artistic vision, Narrow Stairs is a firm step in the other direction. It starts off unabashedly experimental and continues, for the most part, in that direction for the remainder of the album. But is Death Cab being experimental just for the sake of trying to do something new? With their newest, it's a little bit hard to tell.
"Bixby Canyon Bridge" starts off with a wash of ambient noise and Gibbard's distinctive, eternally boyish voice talking about arriving "at the place where your soul had died." The song is a striking departure from their earlier work, all pounding instrumental crescendos and a ridiculous noise freakout at the climactic finish. Hey, I can still dig it, as Gibbard's lyrics remain as strong as ever and the song has a powerful cathartic feel to it.
Things get a little out of hand, however, with the following song, first single "I Will Possess Your Heart." The first four and a half minutes are a slow build-up of an instrumental jam until Gibbard's desperate vocals kick in. To be sure, Death Cab was never meant to mimic Explosions in the Sky, and the rest of the song is neither interesting nor catchy enough to regain the interest lost in the musical wankery earlier.
The band picks it up with "No Sunlight" and the following "Cath...," two songs that call to mind the Death Cab of old. The melodies are solid, Gibbard hits the perfect dichotomy between his bright singing and the dark lyrics, and the band throws away any attempts at experimenting. The resulting focus on pure grade-A songwriting lifts the album back up.
And then the momentum is again killed with the meandering "Talking Birds," which stumbles around a simple drumbeat and a droning guitar moaning in the background. It's almost as if Death Cab is trying too hard to do something new, and in the process forgo any semblance of hook or melody to capture the listener.
Lyrically, the album is more somber in tone than Plans, and Gibbard is in top form talking about everything from the California wildfires to bedroom furniture. While the music follows suit and the instrumental choices are often more varied than in previous releases (kudos to producer/guitarist Chris Walla), too much of many of the songs sounds like just rocking out for the sake of pleasing themselves rather than advancing the individual songs or the record as a whole.
The best songs are those that play to Death Cab's strengths rather than trying to create new ones. "Long Division" keeps the focus on song structure instead of deviating into a mess of sounds and sounds fresh and urgent. "The Ice Is Getting Thinner" is a closing slow song in the best tradition of Death Cab gems like "A Lack of Color" and "Stable Song," sounding wistful without dipping into sappy nostalgia.
Narrow Stairs is a hit-or-miss record. Whereas some of their more adventurous stretches succeed, most notably "Bixby Canyon Bridge," others fall flat and turn the band's attention away from what they do best. But Death Cab's knack for churning out poppy yet thoughtful numbers like "Cath..." should keep their fans reassured that the foursome haven't lost their gift.
Great Addition for Death Cab for Cutie May 13, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I would like to start out by saying this isn't DCfC's best album, but it is a great addition. Transatlanticism is still their best album, but that's probably not going to change since it's just a great masterpiece. The move to Atlantic records has not made any change for their creative abilities. As many know, Chris Walla (the band's lead guitarist) still produced this album. They have succeeded in creating an album that is different than their others, but still holds their style. Any fan of DCfC should be impressed.
The album starts off with the song Bixby Canyon Bridge. It starts out with the feel of their music from Plans, but around 1:40 there is a change to distorted guitar. I was a little nervous at first, but it was actually a good change for them.
I will Possess Your Heart: I'm sure many people have already heard this song. It is one of my favorites from DCfC. They have a 4:20 buildup without any vocals. There is no doubt of the beauty in this. The rest of the song Ben sings about pretty much being a stalker and if a woman would give him a chance she would love him. Absolutely stunning!
No Sunlight: This song reminds me of The Sound of Settling. It is upbeat and energetic. This one is just a fun song to listen to.
You Can Do Better Than Me: This song is only 2 minutes long, but it their best musical experiment. It starts out with what sounds like a timpani (could be wrong, please forgive me) with a tambourine. No ladies and gentlemen, this is not a Christmas song and it sounds good!
Grapevine Fires: With singing words in front there are some hums in the background. This is my second favorite song on the album. Again, something new for DCfC. There is music in this song as well, I'm just pointing out something new for them.
Long Division: The only thing to say about this one is the fact that it is upbeat like No Sunlight. It's a great song and feels like they are getting back in touch with their old style.
Pity and Fear: Sounds quite ethnic. It's simply incredible. I don't know how else to put this one.
The Ice is Getting Thinner: A hauntingly beautiful song that is perfect for the end of a well made album.
I know I barely touched on some songs and left out others, but that's because I know most people don't like to read huge reviews. If you take anything from this review I hope you understand that they wanted to take their music in a different, and positive, direction. They have done this with each new release and it's turned out to be positive. The best part about DCfC is that you can listen to all their CD's in a row and not get bored because they have distinct differences in each, while still keeping their image of being DCfC.
A decent, if underwhelming follow up to "Plans"... May 15, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm not a big fan of DCFC's older stuff. Really, anything before Transatlanticism doesn't do much for me. Those old songs aren't bad, but they just don't stand out too much from one another to me. That's also how I might describe the majority of this album. Never bad, but rarely great.
That being said, "Bixby Canyon Bridge" starts things out pretty nicely, building into a rocker in the middle. "I Will Possess Your Heart" has gotten a lot of buzz for it's 8+ minute track length. One of my biggest complaints about many of the songs on this album is that it takes too long for anything interesting to ever happen. Strangely enough, on the longest song on the album, the length doesn't bother me. Sure they could have chopped a few minutes off, but the bass line is pretty tight and the song sounds different enough from the other songs on the album to remain interesting.
Other standouts for me include the Beach Boys-esque "You Can Do Better Than Me" and the headphone friendly "Your New Twin Sized Bed". I also enjoy the production on this album. Chris Walla knows how to get the most out of every drum sound. He does a good job of making the songs sound good on the radio but even better on your headphones.
Overall, I've found there are some good songs on this album, but not as many standouts as DCFC's previous two albums. Too many songs drag on for too long without any type of rewarding chorus. Still, I'd recommend picking this up and giving it a listen and seeing if any of the other songs spark an interest for you.
 PERFECT! May 16, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I can't recommend "Narrow Stairs" highly enough. I was wondering how Death Cab For Cutie would follow up their masterpiece (Plans) and I was highly skeptical that they could. So many details made "Plans" such a great album and the follow up was going to be a very delicate procedure. "Narrow Stairs" shows growth without sacrificing taste and all the quality of their songwriting and musicianship has evolved in all the right ways. The band has the gifts of creativity and melodicism. The songs on "Narrow Stairs" don't require multiple listens in order to get them engraved in your brain and the whole album is that rare gem that is great from beginning to end. How will they follow this one up?
 Poor Effort May 18, 2008
4 out of 22 found this review helpful
I'm surprised that a band can make such a great cd "(Plans), and then come back with such a piece of trash. No good melodies, and nothing that catches the ear here.
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