No, that’s not some shock-rocker pumping up his latest sonic gorefest, but Chris Walla, singer/songwriter, guitarist, and producer for the normally melodic pop group Death Cab for Cutie. That he’s invoking Hannibal Lecter-ish images and referencing an iconic experimental German rock outfit is just part of what seems a concerted effort by the Cuties to redefine themselves on their eighth full-length studio album, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic).

That the “Can jam” in question, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” is the disc’s first single should excite — or confound — longtime fans used to the gentle introspection of most of its work to date, including 2003’s breakthrough Transatlanticism (Barsuk) and its major-label debut, 2005’s Plans (Atlantic).

Stairs, Walla says, is “really weird . . . it’s totally a curve ball, and I think it’s gonna be a really polarizing record. But I’m really excited about it. It's really got some teeth. The landscape of the thing is way, way more lunar than the urban meadow sort of thing that has been happening for the last couple of records.”

One senses that taking time away from Death Cab for his solo album Field Manual (Barsuk) earlier this year has re-energized Walla, as well as bandmates Nick Harmer (bass), Jason McGerr (drums) and co-songwriter Ben Gibbard (lead vocals, guitar). The spectral “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” and the spaced-out “Pity and Fear,” not to mention several other “abrasive” (in Walla’s words) tunes, reveal a band that seems to be going for broke.

Harmer calls the collection “a sampling of the most uptempo, upbeat Death Cab songs, as well as some of our saddest. I hope this album is a bit of a surprise for those out there that think they have us all figured out,” says Harmer. “We can’t wait to share these songs with the world.” The group will be doing just that this summer, playing a number of festivals — including Bonnaroo and Coachella — in addition to headlining its own dates and, generally, calling its own shots.

“On [Plans] we were really making a lot of decisions based on what we felt other people were gonna think,” Walla declares. “But this record, there’s this kind of slightly malicious glee that we all have that it sounds kind of crazy. It’s pretty fun.”

The band, which hails from Bellingham, WA, has roots that strike deep for their age, and transatlantic ones at that. Their name comes from the title of a song that 1960s absurdists the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band performed in the film Magical Mystery Tour. And an immediate link between main songwriter/guitarist Ben Gibbard and band producer/guitarist Chris Walla when they started working together in 1997 was their mutual affection for the cult Scottish pop-rock band Teenage Fanclub.

The band, which includes bassist Nick Harmer and, since 2003, drummer Jason McGarr, started out making records on a four-track recorder and with each album and tour have graduated to the next level, recording Plans at the famed Longview Farms studio in rural Massachusetts.

In contrast to much of the doom, gloom and anger that has dominated modern rock in recent years, DCFC is part of the wave of new romantic types that have recently arisen, like their peers Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse. “Probably 90 percent of all the songs that have ever been written are love songs,” observes Gibbard, who is adding to the catalog with his own flair, admittedly with a frequently heartbroken touch.

Bringing their own imaginative touches to the pop-rock style, Death Cab for Cutie is now poised to make their mark on musical history.]]> 2006-03-09T17:00:01-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/533076 Artists, Ben Gibbard, Death Cab For Cutie, R.E.M., Musicworld, Hitmaker On album number five, Plans, rising modern rock band Death Cab For Cutie has definitely arrived. It’s their first release on a major, Atlantic Records, after selling nearly half-a-million copies of their 2003 album, Transatlanticism, on the Seattle-based independent Barsuk label. And it comes on the heels of their high-profile participation in 2004’s Vote For Change tour, where they shared the stage with superstars like R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen. They also received the ultimate au courant cultural imprimatur when character Seth Cohen on the red-hot TV series The OC proclaimed Death Cab For Cutie as his favorite band.

The band, which hails from Bellingham, WA, has roots that strike deep for their age, and transatlantic ones at that. Their name comes from the title of a song that 1960s absurdists the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band performed in the film Magical Mystery Tour. And an immediate link between main songwriter/guitarist Ben Gibbard and band producer/guitarist Chris Walla when they started working together in 1997 was their mutual affection for the cult Scottish pop-rock band Teenage Fanclub.

The band, which includes bassist Nick Harmer and, since 2003, drummer Jason McGarr, started out making records on a four-track recorder and with each album and tour have graduated to the next level, recording Plans at the famed Longview Farms studio in rural Massachusetts.

In contrast to much of the doom, gloom and anger that has dominated modern rock in recent years, DCFC is part of the wave of new romantic types that have recently arisen, like their peers Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse. “Probably 90 percent of all the songs that have ever been written are love songs,” observes Gibbard, who is adding to the catalog with his own flair, admittedly with a frequently heartbroken touch.

Bringing their own imaginative touches to the pop-rock style, Death Cab for Cutie is now poised to make their mark on musical history.

Visit BMI's Sundance 2005 Site
Doreen Ringer Ross	Alexander Desplat	BT
Vice President, BMI Film & Television	Composer, “The Upside of Anger,” “Girl With A Pearl Earring”	Composer, “The Fast and The Furious,” “Monster”

The roundtable, entitled "Music & Film: The Creative Process," will feature composers and directors on Wednesday, January 26 from 11am to 1pm at the Sundance House (Kimball Art Center, 638 Park Avenue.) Moderated by BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross, Vice President of Film/TV Relations, panelists include director/actor Kevin Bacon ("Loverboy," "Losing Chase"), BMI composer Michael Bacon ("Loverboy," "Losing Chase"), director Melissa Painter ("Steal Me," "Wildflowers"), BMI composer George S. Clinton ("A Dirty Shame," "Austin Powers"), BMI composer Rolfe Kent ("The Matador," "Sideways," "Mean Girls"), director Richard Shepard ("The Matador"), BMI composer Walter Werzowa ("The Devil and Daniel Johnston"), director Jeff Fenerzeig ("The Devil and Daniel Johnston"), BMI composer Ed Shearmur ("Nine Lives," "Charlie's Angels"), director Rodrigo Garcia ("Nine Lives," "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her"), composer Alexander Desplat ("The Upside of Anger," "Girl With a Pearl Earring"), BMI composer BT ("The Fast and the Furious," "Monster"), BMI composer Aaron Zigman ("John Q," "The Notebook") and Sundance Composers Lab director Peter Golub.

Ed Shearmur	George S. Clinton	Jeff Feuerzeig
Composer, “Nine Lives,” “Charlie’s Angels”	Composer, “A Dirty Shame,” “Austin Powers”	Director, “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”

The third annual BMI Songwriters Snowball will also take place on January 26 at the Sundance House, from 6pm until 8pm. The show will feature acoustic performances by Interscope recording artist Vanessa Carlton, Maverick recording artist Keaton Simons, Atlantic recording artist Joe Firstman, Barsuk/Atlantic recording artist Ben Gibbard (lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service), and Zoe/Rounder Records recording artist and actress Minnie Driver.

Kevin Bacon	Melissa Painter	Michael Bacon
Director, “Loverboy,” “Losing Chase”	Director, “Steal Me,” “Wildflowers”	Composer, “Loverboy,” “Losing Chase”

Admittance to both events is for Sundance Film Festival badges, press passes or by invitation only; tickets will not be sold for these events.

Peter Golub	Richard Shepard	Rodrigo Garcia
Composer, “The Laramie Project,” and Director, Sundance Composers Lab	Director, “The Matador”	Director, “Nine Lives,” “Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her”

Rolfe Kent	Walter Werzowa
Composer, “The Matador,” “Sideways,” “Mean Girls”	Composer, “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”