Emo faves, Death Cab For Cutie has pretty much gone under the radar unnoticed building up a fan base that has grown with each CD they have released. Transatlanticism shows Seattle rockers expanding into a rather more pop appraoch evident in more than a few songs on the CD which has caused mainstream population to take a second look at these guys. Each sound having their own unique sound accompanied with lead singer Ben Gibbards girly-man wail.
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The Songs...

The New Year Sputtered around electric guitar makes this song a disorganized mess...in a good way. A rock tribute to the new year, is clearly evident that Death Cab For Cutie is changing their sound but adding much more of a hard feel to this song which may not of held true in previous albums. So this is the new year/And i don't feel any different...may not feel different, but you definitely sound different!

Lightness Now here we see the raw Death Cab that we all know and love with this slow melodic, a tad much with the drum beats, Gibbard wail out. This song would probably make any square shaped glasses wearer go out and write poetry with a dark, dark black pen. Your heart is a river that flows from your chest/Through every organ/Your brain is a dam/And i am the fish that can't reach the cord...Dude pass the tissues.

Title and RegistrationBing-Bang-Bong...Hey is that your cellphone? Oh wait no its Title and Registration! The jingle beats that make up the background music for this track make this slow track suprisingly catchy. Again you see Death Cab resorting back to their roots here with misguided lyrics about...well im not even really sure. The glove compartment isn't accurately named and everybody knows it/So i am proposing a swift orderly change/Cause behind its doors theres nothing to keep my fingers warm

Expo '86 So dang upbeat in the beginning i feel like it should be the title track of some corny romantic comedy. This track leaves you hooking on to Gibbards every lyric as he seems to take some sort of dramatic pause between each line of this song. Sometimes I think this cycle never ends/We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again

The Sound of Settling Definitely what sets this album apart from the others. This pop anthem is a quick little song, simplistic musically, lyrically, and well that pretty much covers it. But because of it's smart little beat it pulls you in and this is the kind of song that will get Death Cab on the radio. Our youth is fleeting/Old age is just around the bend/I can wait to be grey..../Bahbahbahbah/This is the sound of settling

Tiny Vessels This song is really beautiful in is emoesque lonliness, crooning about the hardships of love and how were all lonely and such...you get the point. All i see are dark grey clouds/In the distance moving closer with ever hour.

Transatlanticism *Checks watch*...Is it over? END THIS SONG FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! There is nothing like a slow song that is almost EIGHT MINUTES long. Though this song has pretty piano to accompany Gibbards voice which in this song puts me to asleep like a baby...hey its better than taking a valum, right? The atlantic was born today and i'll tell you how/The clouds above opened and let it out.

Passenger Seat You definitely hear a calling of Death Cabs older stuff on this song, namely Lowell, MA. Like Transatlanticism, this song is guided by soft piano that really accentuates Gibbard's soft voice making this song stand out. I roll the window down/And then begin to breathe in/The darkest country road and the strongest scent of evergreen.

Death Of An Interior Decorator Death Cab really seems to clump all of the slow piano songs together, this makes the third one. A little too similar to Passenger Seat, its easy to get the two confused. While they're both good songs it would have been smarter to space the two out.

We Looked Like Giants This song is a breath of relief considering the past couple of songs were about to put the audience to sleep. Starting out slow and then exploding into this power rock anthem about the exploration of certain sexual experiences *tehehe*. When every thursday i'd break those mountain passes/You'd skip your early classes/And we'd learn how our bodies worked.

A Lack Of Color Is pretty much opposite what this album is, and song...its great. I feel like Ben Gibbard is covering Simon & Garfunkel with this soft folk acoustic guitar track. It shows that Death Cab is finally coming into their own and can successfully explore songs.
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On A Closing Note
I was truly impressed with this CD. A lot of bands that have a similar yet unrefined sound like Death Cab have made it through despite crap reviews. Death Cab really had to work hard for what they had with a handful of albums and their hard work has definitely paid of with Transatlanticism. Though Death Cab For Cutie has been around a long while, i believe there is much more in store for these Seattle rockers



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening