Ten albums into their tenure and Death Cab for Cutie are still finding ways to reinvent themselves while maintaining their identity and sound. Their 2018 release, Thank You For Today, was the first to feature members Zac Rae and Dave Depper after long-time member and co-writer, Chris Walla, left the group. This led to the songs on that album being predominantly completed by Gibbard. Their new album, Asphalt Meadows, feels and sounds like a much more collaborative piece. Created mostly during a time when people were in quarantine, the band opted to try a new process of writing by handing off tracks and letting the following recipient do with the track what they wish. Whether it be erasing a previous member's contribution, working around or adding to it. Giving each member that creative freedom has the band sounding fresh without losing what makes them unique.
Album opener, "I Don't Know How I Survive" starts as simple bop, a bit poppier than some of their recent outputs, until it erupts into a chorus of fuzz and sound that's a stark contrast from Thank You For Today. Like the band are breaking free from any fears they may have had after the past few years whether it be from world events, personal issues, or where they are as a group. They maintain that grit and abrasion as the record leads into its first single, "Roman Candles," which is one of the best singles they've released in years. Gibbard's vocals keep Death Cab's vulnerability a constant, but the screeching guitars, Harmer's meaty bass, and Rae's distorted synths add new flavor to the overall sound. Tracks like "Asphalt Meadows" and "Here to Forever" has the group dabbling in New Wave/Post-Punk akin to New Order's brand, with the latter even sounding reminiscent of "Age of Consent," while fast-paced "I Miss Strangers" draws a darker tone over Gibbard's laments for his old days of the "punk wars."
Make no mistake though, traditional Death Cab is still present on the album. "Wheat Like Waves" sounds like it could have come from The Photo Album, while "Pepper" combines a little bit of everything the band has had to offer over its career. It's kind of what makes the entire album special. It's a perfect culmination of the band's songwriting over their 25 years while also presenting something new. The best example is "Foxglove Through the Clearcut." One of the most well-constructed songs the band has done in years and it started out with a 4-track demo Gibbard had written in the late '90s. Over two decades later and that demo has turned into Death Cab's version of a Post-Rock song with Gibbard opting for a spoken word approach as the track leads to its explosive crescendo.
Asphalt Meadows could have come to a close after the somber, synth-leaden number, "Fragments From the Decade," but the band decides to end things with a more inspiriting sentiment in "I'll Never Give Up." It's a simple track that comes off more like a jam session, but there's a certain wholeness to it that makes the record feel complete. Throughout Asphalt Meadows, you could find each member hiding behind the guitars or the synths or vocals, but on the closer, each member is in the forefront. For an album so thematically heavy on nostalgia and honoring the past, "I'll Never Give Up," leaves the band looking to the future.
Death Cab for Cutie are back with what I believe to be their best album in a decade. The pacing and flow never leave the listener bored or the record feeling disjointed. As the band experiments with new sounds and explores other genres, each member is given their moment to shine and they never lose what makes them sound like Death Cab. Asphalt Meadows puts a little more "rock" into the "Indie-Rock" as opposed to some of their recent efforts, with credit to John Congleton as the producer for making it all work and blend together as well as it does. Death Cab for Cutie were due for a breath of fresh air and this was it.
