Death Cab for Cutie, "Codes and Keys"

New album sounds pretty, pretty, pretty good, actually, at least for post-2003 DCfC. It's better than "Narrow Stairs" and MUCH better than "Plans" (their only bad record imo), but obviously not as good as "The Photo Album" or "Trans" and not even in the same universe as the first two.

When you add it all up, sad ol' Gibbard's really starting to build an extensive catalog of strong songs. Thirteen years and 7 albums in (8 if you count Postal Service, 9 if you count the Jay Farrar thing), his hit-to-miss ratio is a LOT better than most. Dude deserves more credit than he gets.

I realize it is infinitely uncool to like this band, of course, and to say these things. But that's OK, because they're true.

I realize it is infinitely uncool to like this band, of course, and to say these things.

Correct.

But that's OK, because they're true.

Incorrect.

Gibbard is a better songwriter than people want to give him credit for, that is true, even with the chaff way way outnumbering the wheat in the last 3-4 years. People just get hung up on the image or something, I don't know. The lead single for this new one sounds really good and has me caring more about this album than I otherwise would.

Good songwriter.. Good band. People that get all neg on them are weird. Must be the name. I lived in the NW for years and never received the presumed death cab overexposure bludgeoning that touched seemingly every other indie rock person in America

this album is actually pretty good, certainly much better than the last two, maybe the best since the second one.

It is better than the last two, but I find the middle part to be the most exciting. The run from "Doors Unlocked and Open" to "Monday Morning" is definitely the highlight of the whole thing. The opening and closing pairs of songs sound more DCFC by numbers than anything else.