Kintsugi is the first album since Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard split with ex-wife Zooey Deschanel. In essence, this is a break-up record in disguise. It doesn’t have any angst, and instead it asks the questions we all ask when a relationship fails. Yet, as this is Death Cab For Cutie, these questions and themes are tackled in an amazingly talented way, with lyrics only Gibbard could produce over the soundscapes that guitarist/ keyboardist Chris Walla has become known for.
Unfortunately, Walla left the band after recording this, their eighth studio album. Luckily for fans, he finished off the album, which is a serious return to form for the US indie-pop mainstays. While their last two albums were still good, Kintsugi sees them in career-best form. Think a more modern and lighter version of 2005’s Plans or even a less isolated Transatlanticism (2003).
Opener No Room In Frame is perhaps the most tragic break up song ever – and also the most beautiful. Listen to the lyrics closely and you’ll realise it’s obviously based on Gibbard’s failing marriage. The Ghosts of Beverly Drive and lead single Black Sun are fairly upbeat for a Death Cab record, while Little Wanderer chronicles the trials and tribulations of a long distance relationship and You’ve Haunted Me All My Life catalogues a long-standing unrequited love.
Tucked away right at the end of the album, Binary Sea again affirms this album’s quality. Who knows if Death Cab can create this kind of effort without Walla at the helm, but right now Death Cab sounds as good as ever.
BY ALEXANDER CROWDEN
