Kintsugi: Album Critique BY HANNA MADDERA
D
eath Cab for Cutie emerged from a 4-year hiatus, and just came out with their 9th studio album, Kintsugi, at the end of March. Death Cab has been around since 1997 and has quite an impressive discography, which includes You Can Play These Songs With Chords (Demo, 1997), Something About Airplanes (1998), We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes (2000), The Photo Album (2001), Translantacism (2003), Plans (2005), Narrow Stairs (2008), Codes and Keys (2011), and now Kintsugi (2015). The band members that were involved in the making of Kintsugi include Ben Gibbard on the guitar and vocals, Nicolas Harmer on the bass guitar, Jason McGerr on the drums and percussion, and Chris Walla on the guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals.
NO ROOM IN FRAME “No Room in Frame” is the first track on the album and starts with an interesting, dreamy noise as an intro that slowly gets pushed back as Ben Gibbard’s familiar, recognizable voice eases into the track with a simple beat to accompany him. The other instruments eventually come in, and at 1:45, all the sounds come together and it feels just like any other Death Cab for
Cutie song: easy on the ears and nostalgic. The lyricism speaks of someone in his past as he sings the chorus: “Was I in your way When the cameras turned to face you? No room in frame For two.” The song ends with this hard-hitter: “And I guess its not a failure we could help And we’ll both go on to get lonely with someone else,” and all the instruments fade completely after 4 minutes. It is speculated that a good amount of the album is in reference to Gibbard’s relationship and divorce with actress Zooey Deschanel.
BLACK SUN The next song on the album is entitled “Black Sun.” It feels very familiar. During the chorus, however, there is a hint of soft electronic noises that compliment Gibbard’s voice, pausing after each pair of words. I never thought that Death Cab would ever incorporate electronic music into their songs, but it is 2015. Electronic music seems to weasel itself into all mainstream music, so I shouldn’t be so surprised. Though it does not take away from the overall sound, this is a first for the band. There is a short guitar solo towards the end of the song that is pretty pleasing, and the music slows and ends.
THE GHOSTS OF BEVERLY DRIVE “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive” is the next song on the album, and it is fairly upbeat and the guitar riff is catchy and simple. It makes me want to bop around my bedroom, and it would
be a very fun song to clean the house to. This song is a new sound to Death Cab, though it is still apparent that it is the same band. I think it’s remarkable that they can succeed at trying new things when creating music while still staying true to its roots and original sound. Gibbard sings about a car accident from the perspective of a ghost that was killed in the collision. There is a soft choir of voices that soothingly “oooooh” as Gibbard repeats “I don’t know why, I don’t know why” over and over throughout the song. This is probably my personal favorite off the album.
LITTLE WANDERER Up next is “Little Wanderer,” a slow song addressed to someone dear that is travelling across the globe as (presumably) Gibbard misses them and continues long distance communication. This song touches on common experiences of couples enduring prolonged separation in the 2010’s, including “couldn’t make you out through the glitches,” “say our goodbyes through messenger,” “doing math to the to the time zone you’re at,” and “when we kiss in the baggage claim.” The music is smooth, repetitive, and never overwhelming as it floats through Gibbard’s voice, almost as if it is wandering itself.
YOU’VE HAUNTED ME ALL MY LIFE The mood of the album slows down even more, as “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life” starts. It is about someone that will not get out of his head, although he keeps being rejected after trying to get involved romantically with this
person that will not accept his love. Though it is beautiful, the song is a bit too cliché and forgettable, as nothing about it really stands out to me. It is apparent, however, that Gibbard is reflecting on his past in his old age. In previous Death Cab for Cutie songs, they have a coming-of-age theme, but songs like “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life” really show Gibbard’s reflection on his 38-year experience so far.
HOLD MY GUNS “Hold My Guns” is the shortest song on the album, as it is just over 3 minutes. This track has the most impressive vocals on the album, and they are definitely the dominant part of the song. A quiet, acoustic guitar strums in the background. It is a sad song that seems to be about growing old and accepting age, as if in mourning of it.
EVERYTHIING’S A CEILING The next song, “Everything’s A Ceiling,” picks up the pace, but is a good transition as it advances into the chorus. This track sounds hopeful, though the lyrics suggest otherwise. The song incorporates a metaphor of a hole that two lovers dug into the ground, but one lover left the other and continues to dig the hole with someone new. The percussion and drums are very appealing in this song at the end.
GOOD HELP (IS SO HARD TO FIND) “Good Help (Is So Hard To Find)” is a song you can groove to a little bit, you know, like a song you can tap your foot or sway your shoulders to. It’s pretty
death cab for cutie is formed (started off as gibbard’s solo project and grew into a 4-person band)
1995
we have the facts and we’re voting yes
translanticism
2000
200
jason mcgerr joins the band as the drummer
you can play these songs with chords
something about airplanes
catchy. The lyrics seem to tell the story of a good friend that gives advice to someone when that someone feels as if there is nothing left in life for them and coaxes them out of potential life-dangering thoughts, though they are overwhelmed with the amount of bad advice they have heard previous to this good friend’s. Though it is a heavy subject, the song is upbeat and ends with “Only a fool gives this away.”
EL DORADO “El Dorado,” the 9th song on the album, starts out powerful and then becomes more lively with the slightest hint of electronic, adding to the beat. The drums are heavy and have an apparent presence in this track and set the fast pace. It sounds triumphant, exactly like
the photo album
the topic: finally finding El Dorado. Though the lyrics reveal that it is “underwhelming.” Ah yes, that positivity.
INGENUE The next track, “Ingénue,” starts out with “la la la”s and hand clapping with slightly muffled or Wwarped singing, which seems to give Ingénue, a twenty-three year old woman, advice about life. Ingénue is a word from French origin, meaning a naïve girl or young woman, and is a stock character archetype in literature, film, and theatre. There seems to be tones of inner turmoil in the song, as Gibbard repeats the lyrics “What have we done to you,” which could be interpreted as a social criticism of the loss of innocence in today’s younger population.
plans
narrow stairs
5
kintsugi
2010
2015
codes and keys
BINARY SEA The last song on the album, “Binary Sea,” starts out with a beautiful piano intro, which I have been anticipating since the start of the album. Death Cab for Cutie is notorious in my mind for the familiar, emotional piano they put into their music. Gibbard’s voice sounds like a lullaby or a serenade. The song depicts an atlas struggling with keeping its wonder because of the amount of people taking photos and oversharing in today’s society: For if there’s no document We cannot build our monument So look into the lens and I’ll make sure this moment never dies.” At the end of the song, there people do not have a camera and are nervous about what is going to hap-
chris walla announces his retirement from the band, though he was still involved in the recording of kintsugi
pen when they can’t document their experiences, and faith is restored with the final line, “There’s something brilliant bound to happen here.” Kintsugi is the Japanese art form of fixing broken pottery with gold, so you can see the damage and the history of where it was broken. This is a clever name for the album, as it could be interpreted as Gibbard’s refection of the damage in his love life. Kintsugi is an album that stays true to the Death Cab for Cutie image, while also offering up something new, sweet, and melancholy to listen to. I suggest pouring youself a glass of wine, opening your windows to get some fresh spring air inside, and sitting back and enjoying Kintsugi by yourself, as you might be able to relate to the lovely lyrics and familiar sound.
ENGL 315: Music Writing CANDACE NADON