With their first couple albums, Death Cab for Cutie established a
sound that was uniquely their own, one that not only launched the band
into stardom but also became a foundation for the 21st century’s new
generation of indie/emo rock. But, seemingly intent not to be
pigeonholed into a sound they helped solidify, each subsequent Death
Cab release has expanded their sound in new directions while never
losing their knack for dressing up dispirited lyrics in carefully
catchy pop melodies. Both Transatlanticism and Plans even hinted at overarching themes—the former dealt with love
being conquered by physical distance, the latter with growing old and
emotionally distant. Neither quite coalesced into bona fide concept
albums, though, feeling instead like collections of likeminded
songs.
Narrow Stairs finally achieves that level of cohesion. Once
again, the songs deal with hapless and infelicitous love, but this time
a perceptible, almost narrative theme unfolds from song to song. “I
Will Possess Your Heart,” the eight-and-a-half-minute single that
begins with a brooding, five-minute instrumental jam, explores the
sadly deluded, stalkerish certainty that eventually the song’s
indifferent subject will love the singer in return. “Talking
Bird” is like a lullaby, simple and familiar, with Ben Gibbard
wistfully promising, “It’s all here for you as long as you don’t fly
away.” Key lines of several songs are startlingly dismal: “You can do
better than me, but I can’t do better than you,” “You look so defeated
lying there in your new twin-size bed”—even the driving ’80s rock
beat of “Long Division” can’t hide the desperation in its chorus, “He
had sworn not to be what he’d been before, to be a remainder.”
Despite the heavy heart, there’s a renewed sonic energy pumping
through Narrow Stairs‘ lovesick and deflated veins. Musically
upbeat as it is lyrically despairing, Narrow Stairs is acutely
mimetic of an optimistic but fatally flawed relationship, and though
the sentiment expressed is notably depressing, it is undeniably well
crafted.
Sasquatch 
Nessie
Chupacabra
Jesus
Death Cab for Cutie
Narrow Stairs(Atlantic)
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