Death Cab For Cutie - The Open Door EP [CD]

Atlantic

April 8, 2009, 04:42 PM

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After last years stunning return to form with "Narrow Stairs", Death Cab For Cutie keep the ball rolling with this recently released 'companion piece'. It's tempting to simply label this record as a b-sides and off-cuts collection, (deleted scenes if you will) however the band insist these are tunes that were recorded in tandem with the 'Narrow Stairs' sessions but didn't quite fit with that records darker aesthetic. In all fairness they do have a point, Narrow Stairs was (the annoyingly twee 'No Sunlight' aside) a pretty bleak record musically and everything here seems to sparkle with comparative optimism. Interestingly though the lyrics here seem much darker in hue, Narrow Stairs lyrics focused mainly on positive ruminations on death and ageing but here it's all sad sackery. Indeed Ben Gibbard is not the man he used to be, he wants to be alone, he's no longer a loyal lover and he hides from binds with lines that leads nowhere... lets all break out the cake and orange juice folks!

On opener Little Bribes an aggressive acoustic guitar strikes against a laid back blues shuffle and Ben Gibbards trade-mark wounded, melodic vocals. It's not a particularly great song but it's fun, light and (as per usual) very literate, it almost sounds like the Ben Folds Five or The Decemberists but without any of those bands respective glances of humour or gothic charm. The songs thorough averageness is a clear indication of what is to follow.

A Diamond And A Tether is one of the stronger songs on the disc, it boasts the strongest chorus of the set and the most satisfying arrangement. It's fitting that a band named after the 'Magical Mystery Tour' should be so musically indebted to the Beatles and the delicate harmonies, expansive guitars and sparse backwards tape effects of the track sound very 'Abby Road' to these ears. The opening line ("take pity on me") is hard to take when you factor in that Gibbard is an international rock star with a Hollywood stunner in the bag but it would be churlish of me to deny Gibbard his heart-ache since he articulates it so well. In fact this song would have fit nicely on one of the bands earlier albums, after Narrow Stair's though it's an audible back step.

My Mirror Speaks pushes the envelope a little further and along marks the point at which the EP starts to get a little more interesting. A tight rhythm, wonderfully cryptic lyrics and treated hand claps propel the EP's strongest straight forward indie-pop song into an expansive climax that gives way to 'I Once Was A Loyal Lover'. Loyal Lover is for my money the best thing The Open Door EP has to offer with it's grinding, shoe-gaze distortion and unconventional melodies it might not have worked on Narrow Stairs but it shines like a diamond in the rough amongst this EP's comparatively pedestrian offerings. The final track on the EP 'Talking Bird' is a reworking of one of the highlights off Narrow Stairs and it's interesting to hear the song stripped so bare but it's hardly essential listening if you already own the superior original version.

Basically what we're looking at here is a pretty formulaic Death Cab release, future box-set filler material that I probably won't listen to again (with the exception of Loyal Lover which really should have been saved for the next album). Production (as usual provided by guitarist Chris Walla) is impeccable but all the polish in the world couldn't cover up a collection this plain. For the uber fans and completists only.

Tracklisting

1. Little Bribes
2. A Diamond And A Tether
3. My Mirror Speaks
4. *I Was Once A Loyal Lover*
5. Talking Bird (Demo)

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