Okay so sort of clickbaity title but I do need to specify up front: I liked TYFT and Asphalt Meadows; there was just something about them that didn’t quite feel like the Death Cab I knew (because it wasn’t). This is expected and understandable when you make such a drastic change to a band lineup.

Ben’s lyrics have stayed consistently great, and the songwriting never faltered, but the instrumentation and mixing fell a bit flat for me at times on the last few records. I’ve seen them live on every tour since Chris left, and they have never failed to put on an incredible show - but the studio albums never made it into my heavy rotation the way that Walla’s did.

That being said, I Built You a Tower is scratching that “old Death Cab” itch for me, while still feeling really fresh. It feels like they finally took the training wheels off of Dave + Zach and let them properly cook. Jason and Nick are absolutely on fire on this record as well, and everything feels to truly click behind Ben for the first time.

Punching the Flowers hits on a Photo Album vibe with the punchy and aggressive drum part and busy tapping on the guitars. Pep Talk would feel right at home on Plans or Codes. Envy the Birds moving time signatures and dissonant chord progressions feel like Narrow Stairs.

I could almost feel where each song pulled its inspiration from, but none of them felt like rehashes of old songs.

The true peak of the album for me though, is How Heavenly a State. This song fucks. This is where I feel like everything comes together and every single member of the band comes together to say “this is us now. Get on board or get out of the way.”

I’m on board.

This is my favorite Death Cab record since Kintsugi, and I genuinely think it’s going to keep working its way up my rankings even higher - which I never thought I’d say as a Walla fanboy.

Anyway, I just wanted to ramble about how much I am enjoying this record. Let me know how you all are feeling!

Any PNW locals have a favorite spot to hang out and get sucked into nostalgic melancholy to the tune of Ben’s voice?

I need to exorcise some thoughts about this album. Love hearing other takes because sometimes they can open my mind to things I didn’t appreciate, but also wondering if anyone else feels the same way.

This album feels hastily done and halfhearted, IMO. Ben remarked that this album sounds a lot closer to the demos than most of their albums do, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing! It sounds raw — too raw. For years now, they have been moving away from the layered, atmospheric sound Walla’s production tended to provide, but this album feels like a total rejection of that sensibility, which is part of what makes DCFC special for me.

Lyrically it seems like Ben has done some good personal work to dig up more complex, profound thoughts about relationships and breakups (he probably owes a big thank you to his therapist), but I don’t think the lyrics make up for the music.

I found “Asphalt Meadows” to be uneven but it’s grown on me a bit with time. And I do like some songs on this album. I can appreciate the roughness of “Punching the Flowers.” I enjoy “Stone Over Water” and “Trap Door” but I wouldn’t say I love them. “Envy the Birds” is a biiig skip for me. The chorus of “Pep Talk” feels awkward and I get bored of both versions of “I Built You a Tower.” Overall I’m just disappointed. This one and “Thank You for Today” are probably my least favorite DCFC albums.

OK, I did it! Thoughts exorcised. I just wanted more from this album but I have also kind of felt like the last handful of albums were missing some je ne sais quois. 🤷‍♀️

Today they announced they are playing 5 miles down the road from me in Bexhill, England in a 1500 capacity venue. As a long time fan of this band for two decades this is absolutely unreal. Its a beautiful venue too that overlooks the sea. Occasionally they get amazing bands there, I was lucky enough to see Modest Mouse there, Enter Shikari and John Butler Trio too and each one wasn't even sold out. When I saw the notification pop up today that DCFC were announced I was in utter disbelief as I'd been looking at London tickets this week.

Just listened to Chris’s Ep from 2015 called “Tape Loops” and was blown away by the beauty of the music and the production.

It sounds like a mix of Sigur Ros and the ambient side of Nine Inch Nails. It really made me wish that Sigur Ros would hire him to produce an album for them.

I hope Chris will released solo music again at some point, this is just so beautiful

I'd heard rumblings about this but wasn't interested in an acoustic version of this album I adore so much. But whoa whoa whoaaaaa... Here to Forever is particularly stunning.

I’ve always wanted to see them and I’m considering going solo to one of the upcoming Troxy dates, but there’s only general admission tickets left… And I’m a 5ft2 woman who can’t queue up early to ensure a good view at the cause I have childcare duties 🫠

What’s the vibe at Death Cab shows? Friendly? Will I have any chance of actually watching the band at all?

I’ll probably just have to take my chances but thought I’d see what people think all the same. I love the new album and I’ve been a fan for decades now…

This week's discussion is on the fourth track off I Built You a Tower, "I Built You a Tower (a)."

Lyrics

>I built you a tower
A tower in my mind
A place that no one else
No one else would ever find
'Cause I needed you
I needed you contained
You'd run circles 'round
Circles 'round my brain

>Until I couldn't think
Until I couldn't think of anyone else

>At first the silence felt
Felt like an old friend
From whom I was estranged
But finally made amends
But into this void
Into this empty space
All my sleeping fears
They began to race

>Until I couldn't think
Until I couldn't think of anything else
Until I couldn't think
Until I couldn't think of anything else

>I thought that I could keep
Could keep you locked away
That in this soundless spire
Was where you'd always stay
But there was no shape
That you could not escape
What a fool I was
To think that I was safe

>And now I cannot think
And now I cannot think of anyone else

>Oh, how this penchant is a curse
All the way from the cradle to the hearse
And there are days when I wish you'd just become
An acquaintance or a time-to-time someone

>I built you a tower
A tower in my mind
A place that no one else
No one else would ever find
'Cause I needed you
I needed you contained
You'd run circles 'round
Circles 'round my brain

>And now I cannot think
And now I cannot think of anything else
And now I cannot think
And now I cannot think of anyone else

Discussion Prompts

• What is your interpretation of the lyrics of this song? What does it mean to you?
• How do you think this song fits into the rest of the album?
• What are your favorite parts of this song? Lyrically? Musically?
• Have you read any interesting interviews, analyses, or interpretations of this song?
• Do you relate to the themes of this song? Why or why not?
• ...and anything else you want to discuss!

1. Transatlanticism
2. We Have the Facts
3. Narrow Stairs
4. Thank You For Today
5. I Built You a Tower
6. Plans
7. Asphalt Meadows
8. Kintsugi
9. Something About Airplanes
10. The Photo Album
11. Codes and Keys

Thoughts?

mine would be geese, animal collective, boards of Canada