Death Cab For Cutie
““Forbidden Love””
(Barsuk Records)
5 Songs from Seattle’s Death Cab For Cutie. Slight of size as well as intention. Shuffling along dreamy warm pop dosed with indie-rock (or “emo” as it is the latest and greatest label to stick to music that is generally too sweet for rock, but too intelligent for pop). “Forbidden Love” highlights the CDFC sincere and lazy pace pickings against Ben Gibbard’’s cozy vocals. “Song for Kelly Huckaby” actually has a bit of volume with louder distorted guitars and a drum set crashing the cymbals with urgency. Elements like the Xylophone and warbly keyboards thicken the soundscape some, but the focus is the usually the guitar pickings and Gibbard’s endless flow of breathy lyrics. The formula is repeated five times here in five songs (with the acoustic “405 Acoustic” standing out as an exception), so I’d advise sampling before purchasing (but is solid in its sameness). This is for the delicate meandering indie-pop shoegazer set. And I bet they are thankful.
