Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs (3.5 stars out of 5)

Death Cab for Cutie is a new band for me. I had traditionally ignored them due to what I thought to be an absolutely ridiculous band name, but this proved to be as shallow as it sounds.

Death Cab hails from Bellingham, Washington, 24 miles north of Skagit Valley, and 90 miles north of Seattle. Skagit is quite well known for their Tulip Festivals in late April and early May. Unfortunately, there is not a Royals Radio Affiliate within range of the dial.

Ben Gibbard (Vocals), Chris Walla (Vocals/Guitar), Nick Harmer (Bass), and Jason McGerr (Drums).

Narrow Stairs, their 6th issuing, is not a classic album, but it certainly provides an in depth look into the melodic and driving talent of the members. Its range and breadth clearly indicate that we have not heard the best of them yet, and should remain tuned in to future offerings as well. Of course, I felt that way about these guys as well.

The album kicks off with the tragic Bixby Canyon Bridge, a tale of woe, heartache, and a lost relationship. Gibbard’s emotions are raw and exposed, honest and refreshing. Melodic chord picking fill out the sound of the song, with gentle bass precision. As the song opens up the bass and drums take over driving forward the agendas as Gibbard comes to the realization of his loss. His own self is a tormentor as he analyzes if he has seriously flawed the outcome of his life.

Bixby Canyon Bridge: The source of Ben Gibbard’s personal torment?

The second track on the album, ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’ is the anti-Bixby Canyon Bridge. Starting off with one of those basslines only written once every few years (e.g. here and here), that sets up the whole song going forward – Gibbard pleas with his subject to spend some time together to prove why he is so smitten with them. Unfortunately, like many songs, we never know the outcome of the song, simply the anxious emotion involved at the moment.

Track 4, ‘Cath…’, is currently garnering much airplay in Seattle on independent station 90.3 KEXP, run by the University of Washington. There is something for everyone’s tastes on KEXP. I recommend you stop by the site if you aren’t familiar. ‘Cath’ is par for the course for this album – very melodic, reflective, and of course it is centered around a supposedly beautiful female who fell off the radar somehow.

Track 6 and 7, in my opinion are paired together. ‘You Can Do Better than Me’ (YCDBTM) and ‘Grapevine Fires’ are entertwined musically and sequentially. One begins before the other ends in a traditional DJ style blending of the outro and intro of each. ‘YCDBTM’ is a sweet song blistering love for a partner, asserting that the author has reached the top by selecting his chosen for his mate, but she obviously took a step down to meet him there. I can self identify with this statement as I always felt I married well out of my ‘personalities’ stock. I’m a child of hippies while my wife was straight laced, so telling her that ‘You can do better than me, but I can’t do better than you’ feels apt and correct. The second portion of this tandem, ‘Grapevine Fires’, is a soulful calling to the discovery of true and eternal during a stressful time due to environment, and the realization of mortality.

The last couple of songs play out much like the first portion of the album, with very little up-tempo music. ‘Long Division’ uses some driving tempos and very word savvy lyrics, but if you are looking for a dance album, this probably isn’t it. Instead, what you will find is wonderful rich melodies, with well thought out musical and timing integration, an open heart, well crafted and thoughtful lyrics, full of puns and a bit of ‘misdirection’ in meanings, as well as an honest attempt at making a great album. I expect a major breakout album from these guys after listening to this one and two others (Plans [2005] and Transatlanticism [2003]) – It just hasn’t arrived yet.

Fav. Track: Grapevine Fires

Least Fav. Track: Talking Bird

Buy Narrow Stairs from Amazon.com here.

The Mackrosoft – Shirts and Skins ( 4 out of 5 stars)

I think they should play weird heads v. normal heads

Perhaps none of you know of Aja West, Cheeba, or the Mackrosoft. Allow me to bring you up to speed. Aja West and Cheeba are Funk Masters Extraordinaire, band leaders in the extreme, bringing an eclectic blend of Jazz, Funk, Fusion, and even some steel drums to the mix. Aja and Cheeba, real life brothers, maintain a hectic schedule or recording and releasing their well thought blends on to CD.

Straight from the Trophy Room studios on Mercer Island, WA, and the other Mackrosoft studios in LA and Amsterdam, Aja issues this unique disc that will have you bouncing your head and tapping the steering wheel/table you are sitting at like mad. Fender Rhodes, Talk Boxes, precision drumming, and an array of horns, bass riffs, and percussion will keep your mind whirling through bits and pieces of this album for days.

Shirts and Skins features 8 tracks of blistering fusion delight, from the rythymic yet disjoined feel of ‘Two Men Enter’, where the Steel Drums interspersed and the light funk feel flows straight through, to the heavy double bass drum infused into ‘Imaginiums’, it certainly does not leave you wanting for variety. The melodies here are written and placed well for maximum musical enjoyment. After a fresh listen, one can pick out favorite sounds from the album in their mind, but the sound is so susceptible to change that placement with a particular song is sometimes difficult. Luckily, this leads to a certain ‘re-usage’ quality, which allows the listener to listen again and again without the chance of quick assimilation into the mind and the quick familiarity that burns out a song in that mind.

Aja West has the ball the Royals need to win the pennant!

Aja, his brother Cheeba, and the Mackrosoft are all ones to keep your eye on, especially if into the sound of this album.

Fav. Track: Imaginums

Least Fav. Track: Vicoden Reality

Contact Aja for an advance copy of Shirts and Skins here.

The Upsidedown – Human Destination ( 4 out of 5 stars)

Where can I get some of the crap they were on when they made this?

Brand new music from Portland based ‘The Upsidedown’ is an album entitled ‘Human Destination’. Released on the Dandy Warhol’s own ‘Beat the World Records’, and distributed by World’s Fair, The Upsidedown have built a name for themselves in the Pacific Northwest as an emergent alternative/power pop band. Bassist Tristan Evans, drummer Bob Mild, and guitarist Matt Moore all hail from the Kansas/Missouri area – marking that it is ok to pull for these guys – They are like family (well, they are from the KC area at least).

Who doesn’t like chicks in a rock band? Well, then you are just freaky. I dig it.

Human Destination is a 14 track odyssey from the opener ‘Licorice Noir’ (a simple, short, guitar picked ditty) which launches into the track ‘Hell’, which would be at home at the end of any Hollywood movie with a party scene at the end.

Other tracks of note are ‘Human Destination’, ‘Umbrella’, and ‘Light’, although the whole album is worth numerous listens from start to finish. The blending on the album is well done, and although The Upsidedown has a much defined sound of their own, the tracks do a great job of both lending and separating one from another. Another great thing about this album is the fact that sometimes it just plain rocks, sometimes it makes you want to dance, and sometimes it is so soft and mellow feels like perhaps we should kick back, relax, and let the brain work its magic of audio-visual depiction inside our minds.

If you enjoy ‘Human Destination’, you should also check out their 2004 debut album ‘Trust Electricity’ met with critical acclaim, and certainly some regional recognition in the Pacific Northwest.

Free download of ‘Silver Wind’ from ‘Human Destination’

brett kron: guitars, piano, vocals, synth
matt moore: guitars, vocals, harmonica, toy accordian
tristan evans: bass, vocals
sarah jane: tamborine, vocals, keys
bob graham mild: drums, vocals
jsun atoms: guitar, vocals

Fav. Track: Hell

Least Fav. Track: Ambient 32

Purchase The Upsidedown's 'Human Destination' at iTunes or at eMusic.