Narrow Stairs
by Death Cab for Cutie
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: May 13, 2008
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 99 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 99
  3. Negative: 8 out of 99

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  1. SamF.
    May 15, 2008
    4
    An extremely boring album. The opening track isn't bad, but it goes downhill from there. Eye-rolling lyrics. Gibbard needs to stop saying things like "the place where your soul had died" He can't do it without sounding foolish and a little stupid. Cath... (a passable track) is NS's Tiny Vessels but without a sense of melody. "Long Division," would be a good song if the An extremely boring album. The opening track isn't bad, but it goes downhill from there. Eye-rolling lyrics. Gibbard needs to stop saying things like "the place where your soul had died" He can't do it without sounding foolish and a little stupid. Cath... (a passable track) is NS's Tiny Vessels but without a sense of melody. "Long Division," would be a good song if the vocal production didn't ruin it. As a whole, completely boring. It will leave fans of Death Cab's early work reaching for the Photo Album.… Expand
  2. ColinG
    Jun 25, 2008
    6
    When I read that the official Death Cab fan club had reacted negatively to this new release, I knew that it had some promise. And I'm really happy to see Death Cab coming back to the promise that they showed on "Transatlanticism" but, unlike that album, many of the tracks on this one fail to continue the momentum that the more introspective ones introduce. When listening, skipping When I read that the official Death Cab fan club had reacted negatively to this new release, I knew that it had some promise. And I'm really happy to see Death Cab coming back to the promise that they showed on "Transatlanticism" but, unlike that album, many of the tracks on this one fail to continue the momentum that the more introspective ones introduce. When listening, skipping around a bit actually makes the album sound much better. The opener, "Bixby Canyon Bridge," opens up an atmospheric layer to the album, as you follow the lyrics under the namesake Big Sur bridge to the ocean, carried on by the following "I Will Possess Your Heart," a track which has received so much negative attention for being long and drawn-out. I will admit that the bassline becomes a bit monotonous, but it also works well to set up the drama in the rest of the song. But, after that, things fall apart. Skipping onto "Cath..." and then to "Grapevine Fires" would be best if you liked the first two tracks, as it almost as if tracks like "Long Division" and "No Sunlight" were added to placate the more pop-friendly fans that joined the party on "Plans." But kudos to the band for actually writing an album that their fan-base will likely pan as too ethereal and spaced (read: boring). It indicates that there remains hope for a band that many had thought lost to the MTV/Clear Channel money machine. Maybe the next album.… Expand
  3. JohnB.
    May 19, 2008
    6
    I've generally liked Death Cab's output a lot up to this point, and I think you can see a lot of elements of a great Death Cab record here. The problem, though - and it is significant - is that the "creative" production is really not that creative at all. It buries the songs' good elements underneath ones that are boring, often times repetitive, and quite frankly obnoxious. I've generally liked Death Cab's output a lot up to this point, and I think you can see a lot of elements of a great Death Cab record here. The problem, though - and it is significant - is that the "creative" production is really not that creative at all. It buries the songs' good elements underneath ones that are boring, often times repetitive, and quite frankly obnoxious. Case in point: "Bixby Canyon Bridge" starts the record off in fantastic fashion - melodically, lyrically, instrumentally - before suddenly transitioning into a boring bit of riffing and noodling which seems to say, "Look at this! We can sound different!". It doesn't fit the song at all, and hundreds of bands already do that, and have done it, much better. The attempts to move something new into the sound end up sounding painfully forced, though some work better than this ("No Sunlight", "Your New Twin-Sized Bed", and the single), and some worse ("Pity and Fear"). Again, underneath all this is still a pretty good DCFC record, but they really need to accept the fact that if they want to sound different, the nature of the songs might just have to change too. And that's the real challenge for any songwriter.… Expand
  4. TheDaveHimself
    Jul 13, 2011
    5
    I suppose this album had to happen as a transition between Plans and Codes & Keys, but I still never got on board this one. Decent songs throughout ("Cath" might be one of their better songs), but overall it felt more like a collection of B-sides and near misses. The flow on this album is nowhere to be seen.

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Most Discussed Album of 2008
85
#85 Most Shared Album of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. AllMusic
    80
    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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  2. Billboard
    80
    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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  3. Lost At Sea
    65
    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.
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