Codes and Keys
by Death Cab for Cutie
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: May 31, 2011
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 64 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 64
  3. Negative: 4 out of 64
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  1. LetzTalkMoveez
    Sep 17, 2011
    4
    Death Cab For Cutie's "evolution" has merely consisted of depression and angst turned joy and fairy dust. It's kind of annoying, and while the angst in their early records was still accompanied by a certain happiness and escapism, it also entailed the exploration of human emotion that could only be expressed through music. "Codes and Keys" is the same song on every track, the same emotion,Death Cab For Cutie's "evolution" has merely consisted of depression and angst turned joy and fairy dust. It's kind of annoying, and while the angst in their early records was still accompanied by a certain happiness and escapism, it also entailed the exploration of human emotion that could only be expressed through music. "Codes and Keys" is the same song on every track, the same emotion, the same little trick that needs a shake-up from repetition.… Expand
  2. ramona
    Sep 15, 2011
    5
    If you had to choose between having the Codes and Keys or the locked door, what would you choose? Are both equally important? It may depend of the situation: but in the new album of Death Cab for Cutie, evidently, the Codes and Keys are more important. Because just by hearing those melodies you realize that the band gave another step, and if in the previous album they were walkingIf you had to choose between having the Codes and Keys or the locked door, what would you choose? Are both equally important? It may depend of the situation: but in the new album of Death Cab for Cutie, evidently, the Codes and Keys are more important. Because just by hearing those melodies you realize that the band gave another step, and if in the previous album they were walking fearfully in their â… Expand

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Most Discussed Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. The Boston Phoenix
    Nov 29, 2011
    50
    Keys and Codes, which inverts the title of Death Cab's last record, feels slapped together, which is disappointing when you consider the array of talent present.
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  2. Billboard.com
    Jun 29, 2011
    81
    Past Death Cab albums have found frontman Ben Gibbard penning youthful lyrics about the wariness and mystery of love, but now, the singer -- who recently married actress/musician Zooey Deschanel -- seems to finally be at peace with his strange, wonderful self.
    Read full review
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 17, 2011
    40
    Codes and Keys is littered with PDA for Gibbard's new celebrity wife Zooey Deschanel, but this especially garish monument to his muse would have been better placed on one of her She & Him album-wafers.
    Read full review
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