Artist: Death Cab for Cutie

Album: Codes and Keys

Record Label: Atlantic

Soundwaves: 4/5

Sounds Like: Symphonic indie pop

Ben Gibbard, songwriting mastermind behind indie pop group Death Cab for Cutie, is no longer the starry-eyed youth who wistfully crooned nostalgia-laced hit ‘Crooked Teeth’ or the brooding talent behind the 2008 album ‘Narrow Stairs,’ a darkly compelling look into his troubled psyche. With his latest album, he’s back to his usual cheerful self — this time, much older and wiser.

‘Codes and Keys’ marks a triumphant return to Gibbard’s breezy pop sensibilities, meshing well with the experimental keyboards that have become something of a calling card for the band.

Lead single ‘You Are a Tourist’ is already thundering up the alternative rock charts, and with good reason. Gibbard’s vocals soar over sweeping keyboards and vast guitar riffs that tack on a sense of grandeur to an otherwise charmingly quirky tune. The charm of the album is paraded by the orchestral acoustics of ‘Stay Young, Go Dancing’ and the Two Door Cinema Club-esque driving dance beat of ‘Underneath the Sycamore.’

Although the band says to have drawn inspiration from New Wave juggernauts Brian Eno and LCD Soundsystem, the fuzzy vocals and distorted instrumentation on ‘Home is on Fire’ and ‘Doors Unlocked and Open’ resembles Arcade Fire’s Grammy-winning album ‘The Suburbs.’ If Arcade Fire’s moody masterpiece is the decrepit house on the corner of the indie-rock neighborhood with the miserable owner everyone knows to avoid, then ‘Codes and Keys’ would be the amiable neighbor who throws parties every weekend.

‘Codes and Keys’ is a steady departure from the tightly packed melodies on early critically acclaimed efforts ‘Transatlanticism’ and ‘Plans’ that captivated the Pitchfork crowd. Chris Walla leaves his guitar on the shelf and instead experiments with heavily emphasized keyboard chords, especially with a melancholic organ on closing ballad ‘St. Peter’s Cathedral.’

Despite being labeled as indie-rock’s darlings, Death Cab for Cutie resolutely refuse to be pigeonholed into one clearly defined genre on ‘Codes and Keys.’ Piano rock gets its due on ‘Some Boys’ and the vacuous ‘Unobstructed Views’ is balanced by drummer Jason McGerr’s nifty snare fills. The band then plunges headlong into post-punk territory with loud echoing guitars and fuzzy vocal effects that overshadow Gibbard’s genuine lyrics. The album spans both ends of the musical spectrum, but even with its often ambiguous influences and unlikely forays into unexplored genres, the band makes it work by injecting its signature bouncy pop sounds in all eleven tracks.

Gibbard has swayed from sunny to sullen with each carefully crafted record and ‘Codes and Keys’ couldn’t have come at a better time for the band. It’s a welcome departure from the morose experimentations Death Cab for Cutie tinkered with on its last studio release. Ben Gibbard and company aren’t sad anymore, and they aren’t afraid to revel in it.

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on June 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman