#8 – Narrow Stairs (2008)

The breakthrough success of 2005’s Plans left Death Cab in an interesting spot. All eyes were on the band, and I guess they wanted to change things up with their release of Narrow Stairs.

During production, guitarist and producer Chris Walla described the record as “polarizing” and “abrasive.” He said they had drawn influence from the “heavy, slow-metal” band Brainiac. 

Well, Walla did not lie. The opening track of Narrow Stairs, “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” is much more explosive than the timid album opener of Plans, “Marching Bands of Manhattan.” The garbled guitar distortion, heavy-hitting drumming from Jason McGerr, and gradual crescendo to the climax of the song is jarring to listen to. It’s then followed by an eight minute song, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” a song about a stalker who is desperately trying to win a girl. The song shines a spotlight on the band’s bassist, Nick Harmer, who plays the same repetitive bassline for nearly the entire song. It’s an eerily dark track both musically and lyrically.

Contrastingly, the opening two tracks are followed by two very Death Cab-esque songs, including “No Sunlight” and “Cath…,” which maintain all their rock roots. However, after four very enjoyable songs, Narrow Stairs takes a nosedive in terms of listenability. Besides “Grapevine Fires,” this album is pretty unexciting. The rest of the songs are either boring, unoriginal, or just bad. 

Honestly, Narrow Stairs is just a very dark record. “Talking Bird” and “The Ice is Getting Thinner” are both hauntingly slow and contain a surprising amount of grizzly undertones. It’s depressing to listen to.

The album charted at #1 on the Billboard 200, which is the highest any of their albums have ever reached. 

Despite the commercial success, like Thank You For Today, this album is still pretty forgettable. 

Best Song: Cath…

Worst Song: Pity and Fear