Transatlanticism was the first Death Cab for Cutie record I ever listened to--and I'm sure the same could be said for just about everybody since it was their breakthrough success back in 2003 that spawned them some commercial spotlight. More importantly, this is the record that bridged the gap between their more independent low-fi rock sound from 2001's The Photo Album into a more definitive and layered sound that they've grown off of since with 2005's Plans and their popular Narrow Stairs from 2008. This will go down in history, though, as my favorite record from the group since I think it shows a great mix of everything that makes them so great.

The album starts with the distorted and melodic The New Year, which has lead singer/guitarist Benjamin Gibbard crooning, "So this is the new year / and I don't feel any different" What a way to start the album and the self-deprecation doesn't stop there. I didn't used to be a huge fan of this song, but when I saw it live I couldn't help but dig it. The structure is very interesting and catchy. Lightness is one of my all-time favorite Death Cab songs. It's definitely moody and displays some of the band's more intriguing lyrical offerings as well as an improvement in melody that's extremely memorable. "Oh, instincts are misleading / You shouldn't think what you're feeling / They don't tell you want you know you should want." In hindsight, this song is a little creepy...but I think it has good and sweet intentions.

If you aren't familiar with Death Cab for Cutie, they're a four piece band straight out the Seattle post-grunge scene that hit the streams in 1998 with their Something About Airplanes record. They've since gone on to a great career with a cult following by old fans and a huge success via how much work they've done on various soundtracks from Six Feet Under, The OC, and, more recently, with one of the Twilight movies (though that's not a selling point for me). They're a melodic rock band that's not very loud or intrusive, but sweet, mellow, and sad. Transatlanticism is their most atmospheric record.

Title and Registration was one of their singles and is unforgettable. It's a laid back and catchy acoustic guitar progression that slowly builds up through the course of the song that involves a narrator that's heartbroken and vulnerable. "There's no blame for how our love did slowly fade / And now that it's gone / it's like it wasn't there at all / And here I rest where disappointment and regret collide / Lying awake at night" Gibbard's voice is gorgeous as he sings almost more to himself than an audience and I guarantee you that this is one of the record's main selling points.

Another reason to dig Transatlanticism is Expo '86, which has Gibbard singing about romance in a way we can all relate to. "I am waiting for something to wrong / I am waiting for familiar resolve / I am waiting for another repeat / Another diet fed by crippling defeat / And I am waiting for that sense of relief / I am waiting for you to flee the scene / As if you held in your hand the smoking gun / And on the floor lay the one you said you loved." Most people would presume this band is emo (as if that label is relevant), but they're more of a soulful rock band whose observations are centered on the heart and emotions we're too afraid to speak of. This is a great song because it amplifies itself on a perimeter between soft and loud--it eventually becomes more of a rock song in the vein of something from earlier in their career. The Sound of Settling is a fast-paced and fun little softer rock song that's catchy and poppy, but not lame. The entire band is doing a terrific job here from Jason McGerr's stomping and clapping (alongside his drumming) that begs you to do the same and the charming guitars that weave together from Gibbard and genius Chris Walla.

Tiny Vessels never fails to kill me inside. Fans of the band's older material and their new stuff will all come together in this song since it displays the best of both worlds. The lyrics are extremely sad and are quietly violent in their own way. I love the instrumentation and how emotional and downbeat it is. "This is the moment that you know / That you told her that you loved her but you don't / You touch her skin and then you think / That she is beautiful but she don't mean a thing to me / Yeah, she is beautiful but she don't mean a thing to me." This song never fails to hit me where it hurts.

However, the best song on Transatlanticism has to be the title track--an eight minute epic that will, hopefully, move you as it's intended. The production value is through the roof and its visual tone is a force to be reckoned with. The entire band is on the ball here in creating an atmospheric song that there's no doubt you'll not forget. I love the guitar work in this song and how it slowly builds up over the course before the untimely end where Gibbard's chanting, "I need you so much closer". The instrumentation is fantastic--showing the band working outside the box and experimenting with their studio space.

Passenger Seat is a gorgeous song that's led by the gentle sounds of piano with Gibbard's voice as an accompaniment. It's a ballad, to be sure, and I love how the piano opens up more and more as the song continues. Death of an Interior Decorator is a very different and interesting rhythmic track that you'd swear was off-tempo, but oddly works extremely well. I love the chorus despite how high Gibbard's voice gets. The last louder song of the record is terrific--titled We Looked Like Giants. This could have easily found a home on The Photo Album, but it works well here. Gibbard sings very fast as if he's scatting and the sweeping guitars create a wall of sound that's quite beautiful. This is a more straight-up rock song, but don't expect anything like the Foo Fighters or something like that--the band has created their own style of rock that works very well here.

Lastly, we have A Lack of Color, which ends the record on a very low note. Stylistically the song is very interesting with just piano and guitar with ambience in the background, but it's so sad! "All the girls in every girlie magazine  / Can't make me feel any less alone / I'm reaching for the phone / To call at 7:03 and on your machine I slur a plea for you to come home / But I know it's too late / I should have given you a reason to stay / Given you a reason to stay."  It's a heartbreaking song that's one of my favorite Death Cab songs since the tone is so downtrodden and sincere as well as the soft acoustic tone of it.

Transatlanticism can be added to the list of one of the best records of all time. I've listened to it frequently since 2006 when I got into Death Cab and it still won't let up. The emotions are all genuine and I feel connected to every lyric in place. More than that, I can listen to every single song and sing along without skipping a beat. Chances are this album will make you depressed--and I don't fault you, but it's a perfect record to cope with after a breakup or other issues. The lyrics are easily some of the band's best--showing the promise that would lead them further in their career. While this is a weighty and sad record, it's so gorgeously composed that you will have no trouble getting into it and, hopefully, loving it.

© Jason Haskins, 2010



Tracks

01. The New Year
02. Lightness
03. Title and Registration
04. Expo '86
05. The Sound of Settling
06. Tiny Vessels
07. Transatlanticism
08. Passenger Seat
09. Death of an Interior Decorator
10. We Looked Like Giants
11. A Lack of Color


Death Cab for Cutie

CDs
Something About Airplanes (1998)
Plans (2005)
Narrow Stairs (2008)
The Open Door EP (2009)

DVDs
Drive Well, Sleep Carefully - On The Road with Death Cab For Cutie (2005)
Death Cab For Cutie: Directions (2006)

Benjamin Gibbard/Andrew Kenny

Home Vol. V (2003)

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising