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Narrow Stairs finds Death Cab comfortable with all aspects of its musical personality--and on top of them all.
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Under The RadarNarrow Stairs proves that with Death Cab For Cutie, it's possible to relax and let them do their own thing. Which is a remarkable thing indeed. [Spring 2008, p.75]
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Narrow Stairs is far from desperate, however, and the album's willingness to steer Death Cab into unfamiliar territory (or, to reference an earlier lyric, "into the dark"), is by far its strongest asset.
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The songs here hit with a full-on assault of crunching guitar riffs, distorted, cracked vocals and walls of disorienting feedback, while lyrically, frontman Ben Gibbard visits the moodier and darker corners of his mind.
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Gibbard's indie-rock blues still plumb emotional depths with remarkable literary detail.
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The quartet are more impressive, and moving, when they try less hard.
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Alternative PressThe real reason narrow Stairs works so well is that despite the band's more esoteric experiments, they still contribute standalone pop hits. [June 2008, p.125]
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BlenderThis LP, which matches "Transatlanticism" as Death Cab's best. [June 2008, p.71]
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This time out the musical gambles are bolder and the outcome proportionally more dramatic.
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While that may sound dangerously morose, Death Cab have become skilled with the light/dark juxtaposition.
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Narrow Stairs is the sound of a band falling in love with the concept of sound; as such, Gibbard’s stately lyricism largely takes a backseat--although his voice has never sounded more different and varied.
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It's by no means a cheery album, but Narrow Stairs shows Death Cab for Cutie has overcome its major-label jitters and resumed making vital music.
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While Narrow Stairs may scale down the melody-assaults of previous efforts, with their fresh groove and whiff of rebellion, Death Cab announce themselves as genuine rock stars.
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UncutThis is the sound of a band surprising itself. [July 2008, p.92]
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A lesser band would shadow Gibbard's woe with their shoulders hunched. Instead, Death Cab's ebullience makes this a redemptive work about sadness.
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FilterThroughout Narrow Stairs, the band allows itself to open up, twisting and tinkering the same old style to their liking with mixed results. [Spring 2008, p.90]
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It may not be perfect, but it was certainly worth the wait.
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When Gibbard gets out of his own head, the confrontation between his tuneful optimism and the real world can yield an exhilarating dramatic tension.
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On its own, it has some great moments, and it is a very good pop/rock record.
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Ben Gibbard has shown growth which each successive release, and made the jump to hooky pop-songsmith with the Postal Service's (apparently) one-off collaboration, but Narrow Stairs feels stagnant, devoid of even the superficial pleasures present on Plans.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 82 out of 99
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Mixed: 9 out of 99
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Negative: 8 out of 99
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Jan 21, 2018
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Dec 15, 2012
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Oct 8, 2011