Spring Break
REVIEW: A 'Door' to excellence
4 out of 5 stars
Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Focus
What's a band to do when fans are eager to devour more songs after an excellent album? Why, release the leftovers of course. Just like Coldplay did with "Prospekt's March," Death Cab for Cutie's "The Open Door EP" is a collection of songs that, according to the band, didn't fit thematically with "Narrow Stairs," released last summer. The parallel between these two artists was that both were albums that took the artists in strange, new, and ultimately successful, directions. "The Open Door EP" features four new songs along with a demo of a song from "Narrow Stairs," "Talking Bird." Of the five tracks, this is the weakest. It is an acoustic rendition that manages to slow down the ballad even further. Besides, by this point, insatiable fans have probably listened to the song to the point of it being dull. The version presented here does nothing but reaffirm how vital singer Ben Gibbard's voice is to Death Cab's songs.
The EP sees the band backsliding a little bit, though not in a pejorative sense. The songs here are less aggressive and slightly poppier than say, "Long Division" off "Narrow Stairs." There is a driving force behind the band throughout the album, with the band pitching forward like a wrecking ball. The lyrical content is similar to "Narrow Stairs," with Gibbard singing, "You can't even begin to know/ How many times I've told myself 'I've told you so,'" as his character looks at his life in "I Was Once a Loyal Lover." It is the type of spurned persona that inhabited many of the songs on "Narrow Stairs," though this song calls "You Can Do Better Than Me" to mind.
Death Cab For Cutie probably comes the closest it will ever get to writing a Shins song on this EP, with the lead-off track "Little Bribes" sounding like something that could have been off of "Wincing the Night Away." More likely, rather, it seems to be a fitting tribute to the Shins' cover of "We Will Become Silhouettes," which was one of Gibbard's songs. The track concerns itself has a Las Vegas-theme to it, with two forlorn people kissing "like lonely people do" before erupting into a short solo for emphasis, as if to signify fireworks going off at the connection.
Lyrically, the EP sees Gibbard continuing the sketches of characters he's been honing most notably since "Plans." The characters are full of desperation, with one "always watching the door" in case he finds someone who can outdo his current lover. In another song, one "always fall[s] in love with an open door," passing up everyone in front of him. This anguish and frustration with a lack of connection seems to demonize Gibbard's writing, though longtime fans know he is also capable of writing songs full of hope and love (see the Postal Service's "Give Up" for that on full display). This might be the last his listeners hear of Gibbard's pessimism, since he has said that the next album won't be as dark as "Narrow Stairs," and probably this EP by extension. Whatever may be the case, this is a welcome entry into Death Cab's collection, though it makes the wait for the next album all the more excruciating. Maybe Gibbard's not done with his sadism yet.
The EP sees the band backsliding a little bit, though not in a pejorative sense. The songs here are less aggressive and slightly poppier than say, "Long Division" off "Narrow Stairs." There is a driving force behind the band throughout the album, with the band pitching forward like a wrecking ball. The lyrical content is similar to "Narrow Stairs," with Gibbard singing, "You can't even begin to know/ How many times I've told myself 'I've told you so,'" as his character looks at his life in "I Was Once a Loyal Lover." It is the type of spurned persona that inhabited many of the songs on "Narrow Stairs," though this song calls "You Can Do Better Than Me" to mind.
Death Cab For Cutie probably comes the closest it will ever get to writing a Shins song on this EP, with the lead-off track "Little Bribes" sounding like something that could have been off of "Wincing the Night Away." More likely, rather, it seems to be a fitting tribute to the Shins' cover of "We Will Become Silhouettes," which was one of Gibbard's songs. The track concerns itself has a Las Vegas-theme to it, with two forlorn people kissing "like lonely people do" before erupting into a short solo for emphasis, as if to signify fireworks going off at the connection.
Lyrically, the EP sees Gibbard continuing the sketches of characters he's been honing most notably since "Plans." The characters are full of desperation, with one "always watching the door" in case he finds someone who can outdo his current lover. In another song, one "always fall[s] in love with an open door," passing up everyone in front of him. This anguish and frustration with a lack of connection seems to demonize Gibbard's writing, though longtime fans know he is also capable of writing songs full of hope and love (see the Postal Service's "Give Up" for that on full display). This might be the last his listeners hear of Gibbard's pessimism, since he has said that the next album won't be as dark as "Narrow Stairs," and probably this EP by extension. Whatever may be the case, this is a welcome entry into Death Cab's collection, though it makes the wait for the next album all the more excruciating. Maybe Gibbard's not done with his sadism yet.
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