Death Cab for Cutie Art Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs Songs

2008 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

Narrow Stairs
Studio album by Death Cab for Cutie
Released	May 12, 2008
Studio	Robert Lang Studios, Seattle, U.s.
Genre	Alternative rock indie rock
Length	44:50
Label	Atlantic Barsuk
Producer	Chris Walla[1]
Death Cab for Cutie chronology
Plans (2005) Narrow Stairs (2008) The Open Door EP (2009)
Singles from Narrow Stairs
"I Will Possess Your Center" Released: March 17, 2008 "Cath..." Released: July 21, 2008 "No Sunlight" Released: November 17, 2008 "Grapevine Fires" Released: February 3, 2009

Narrow Stairs is the sixth studio album by indie stone band Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 12, 2008 in the United Kingdom and on May thirteen, 2008, in the United states, on Atlantic and Barsuk Records.^[2]

Iv singles were released for the anthology: "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath...", "No Sunlight", and "Grapevine Fires". "I Will Possess Your Heart" reached number six on the U.s. Alternative Songs chart, was named iTunes U.k. song of the year 2008, and was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Stone Song. "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires", also reached number x and number xx-1 on the U.s.a. Alternative Songs chart, respectively.

Narrow Stairs reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, making it Death Cab for Cutie'south highest charting album to-date.

Recording and production [edit]

In Oct 2007, producer and guitarist Chris Walla said that Death Cab for Cutie'south new anthology "is in full swing; we're 6 songs in." He went on to say, "thus far it's pretty weird and pretty spectacular; lots of claret. Information technology'southward creepy and heavy... we've got a ten infinitesimal long Can jam, and had yous suggested that possibility to me in 1998, I'd take eaten your puppy's brain with a spoon."^[three] In a Billboard piece, Walla described the album: "It's really weird. It's really, really practiced, I think, simply it'southward totally a curve ball, and I remember it'south gonna be a really polarizing tape. Simply I'm really excited virtually information technology. It's really got some teeth. The mural of the affair is manner, way more lunar than the urban meadow sort of matter that has been happening for the concluding couple of records." Walla went on to say, "[It's likewise] louder and more anomalous and [...] I think abrasive would exist a good word to use. [We were influenced past] heavy, sludgy, slow metal [and] synth-punk band Brainiac."^[4] Ben Gibbard, pb singer and writer, commented, "I simply don't feel like nosotros actually have annihilation to prove of it other than to ourselves and to making a tape nosotros really enjoy."^[v]

In 2011 Walla stated, "the master plan for Narrow Stairs was to be as invisible and hands-off equally a producer as I perhaps could. I was actually interested in seeing what would happen. When we started that record, we had been on tour for the better part of 2 years. All we could remember was existence on stage and playing. And so the whole idea was: what happens if we're merely on phase and we play, except we're in the studio and we're recording?"^[6] Walla added "Narrow Stairs was very much a commitment to merely crashing through the songs as we recorded them, like 4 people in a room."^[7]

Writing and composition [edit]

While promoting the band'southward subsequent album, Codes and Keys (2011), Benjamin Gibbard reflected upon Narrow Stairs' lyrical content, stating, "That record is kind of a fulcrum in my life. So much of the negativity in my life got funneled into it. I realized after that I didn't want to go any darker. I wanted it to be the bottom for this ring and my ain emotional spectrum in terms of writing. I had no grandiose plans to turn my life around."^[8]

Notes [edit]

Several of the songs have literary or cultural themes, for example "Grapevine Fires" appears to exist centered on the wildfires that raged in California during the summer and autumn of 2007.

"Bixby Canyon Bridge" features many references to writer Jack Kerouac, whom Ben Gibbard frequently notes equally a favorite author in interviews, and the vocal was written during a trip to Big Sur, the location of Bixby Creek Bridge.^[9] Gibbard has written lyrics referencing Kerouac earlier, including the songs "Lowell, MA" and "Title Rails" from Expiry Cab for Cutie's 2000 album, We Accept the Facts and We're Voting Yes, and his contribution of lyrics and vocals to a song by Styrofoam titled "Couches in Alleys".

"Pity and Fearfulness" features an sharp catastrophe where the vocal finishes without warning during an instrumental. In an interview, the ring stated that the tape machine they were using broke toward the end, however the band liked then much that they included it in the final version of the song.

The concluding track on the album, "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", is used in the beginning-season finale of the television series Gossip Daughter, every bit well equally in the fourth flavor of reality series The Hills. The song "No Sunlight" is included in the soundtrack for Choke. "Pity and Fear" was included in the ending of an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The first rail, "Bixby Canyon Span", was used at the end of the Friday Nighttime Lights episode, "How the Other Side Lives".

The embrace art was created by designer EE Storey, the art managing director for Tegan and Sara.^[10]

Disquisitional reception [edit]

Professional ratings

Amass scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[xi]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
The A.V. Order	A[13]
Entertainment Weekly	B[14]
The Guardian	[15]
The Independent	[16]
Mojo	[17]
Pitchfork	half dozen.0/10[18]
Q	[xix]
Rolling Rock	[20]
Spin	[21]

The album holds a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".^[11] MTV's James Montgomery referred to Narrow Stairs every bit "unquestionably the all-time affair [Death Cab has] ever done".^[22] Rolling Stone chosen the album "a night, strangely compelling record that trades the grouping's vivid melancholy for something nearer to despair."^[xx] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave it a two-star honorable mention ( ), while picking out ii songs from the album ("You Can Do Better Than Me" and "Grapevine Fires") and stating that the album has "Unfailingly melodic, surprisingly dynamic, somewhat overextended love bug, and if [Ben is] and then smart why doesn't he shelve music and solve them?"^[23]

The album has been highly rated by critics and fans, having been awarded iv stars out of v past publications such as Rolling Stone, Blender ^[24] Kerrang!,^[25] Uncut, Alternative Press, The Times,^[26] The Observer,^[27] The Independent and The Guardian, as well as past the websites AllMusic and Consequence of Sound,^[28] and Tiny Mix Tapes.^[29] Fourth dimension magazine awarded the album a "B+" rating, with The A.V. Lodge giving information technology an "A" rating.^[xiii] Boston radio station WERS ranked Narrow Stairs as the No.viii album of 2008 based on a listener poll. Even more favorable reviews come up from such publishers every bit Under the Radar (with nine stars out of ten),^[11] Billboard,^[30] The Boston Earth,^[31] Hartford Courant,^[32] Paste (seven out of ten),^[33] and Filter (70%).^[eleven]

Other reviews that are given three stars out of v are Mojo,^[11] Q,^[11] At present,^[34] and Prefix Magazine (six out of ten),^[35] likewise as the website Sputnikmusic.^[36] Publishers that have mixed reviews are Slant Mag (2-and-a-half stars out of five),^[37] Hot Press (2.v out of v),^[38] The Austin Chronicle (two stars out of five),^[39] and The Village Vocalism.^[40]

Commercial performance [edit]

In its debut week, Narrow Stairs reached the No.ane spot on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 144,000 copies and scoring the band its outset No.one album. One week later it fell to No.5 with 52,000 copies. As of January 31, 2009, the anthology had sold over 475,000 copies in the United states of america. Narrow Stairs was certified Gold by the RIAA in February 2009, for shipments of 500,000 copies.^[41]

Narrow Stairs was nominated for the "Best Alternative Music Album" accolade at the 51st Grammy Awards. In addition, "I Will Possess Your Heart" was nominated for "Best Stone Song".^[42]

Track listing [edit]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Bixby Canyon Span"	Ben Gibbard	5:15
2.	"I Will Possess Your Eye"	Gibbard, Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr, Chris Walla	8:25
3.	"No Sunlight"	Gibbard, Walla	2:40
4.	"Cath..."	Gibbard	iii:50
five.	"Talking Bird"	Gibbard	3:23
6.	"Y'all Can Practise Ameliorate Than Me"	Gibbard	1:59
vii.	"Grapevine Fires"	Gibbard, Harmer, McGerr	4:09
8.	"Your New Twin Sized Bed"	Gibbard, Harmer	3:06
ix.	"Long Division"	Gibbard, Harmer, Walla	iii:50
10.	"Pity and Fearfulness"	Gibbard	iv:21
11.	"The Ice Is Getting Thinner"	Gibbard, Walla	3:45

iTunes Store bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(south)	Length
12.	"I Volition Possess Your Heart" (radio edit)	Gibbard, Harmer, McGerr, Walla	iv:08
thirteen.	"Anthology Credits" (As Read by Mike West)		2:51
14.	"The Ice Is Getting Thinner" (Demo)	Gibbard, Walla	3:xxx
15.	"No Sunlight" (Demo)	Gibbard, Walla	3:25

The latter two demos were likewise included on the vinyl LP edition of the album.

Personnel [edit]

Death Cab for Cutie

• Ben Gibbard – vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, keyboard, drums, drum car
• Nick Harmer – bass, backing vocals
• Jason McGerr – drums, percussion
• Chris Walla – lead guitar, audio sequencer, backing vocals, pianoforte, keyboard

Production

• Chris Walla – production, recording, mixing
• Eric A. Hegg – centerfold photo
• Alex Newport – mixing
• Chris Tabron – mixing banana
• Roger Seibel – mastering
• EE Storey – artwork, layout

Charts [edit]

Certifications [edit]

Release history [edit]

The album was initially released on May 12, 2008,^[2] in the United Kingdom and on the following twenty-four hour period in the United States.

References [edit]

1. ^ "Death Cab For Cutie Mountain Narrow Stairs". chartattack.com . Retrieved March 8, 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Death Cab For Cutie Denote UK Shows". XFM. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
3. ^ Death Cab for Cutie: "We're six songs in." Archived October xx, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Puddlegum (Jan 29, 2008). Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
4. ^ Death Cab for Cutie promises louder, abrasive, dissonant new album. Punknews.org. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
5. ^ Making of the new anthology on YouTube (December xiv, 2007). Retrieved on July vii, 2011.
6. ^ Expiry Cab For Cutie – interview – Interviews Archived March 15, 2012, at the Wayback Motorcar. thevine.com.au. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
7. ^ Decease Cab For Cutie – interview – Interviews Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. thevine.com.au. Retrieved on July vii, 2011.
8. ^ Death Cab for Cutie contour; Death Cab for Cutie interview – Chicago Tribune. Manufactures.chicagotribune.com (May 19, 2011). Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
9. ^ Ben Gibbard Turns To Kerouac Equally Inspiration For New Expiry Cab for Cutie Album : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily. Rolling Stone (Baronial 31, 2007). Retrieved on July vii, 2011.
10. ^ "New Anthology for Decease Cab for Cutie". eFluxMedia. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
11. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Reviews for Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie". Metacritic. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
12. ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Narrow Stairs – Decease Cab for Cutie". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
13. ^ ^{a b} Ryan, Kyle (May 12, 2008). "Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 26, 2011.
14. ^ Weingarten, Marc (May 16, 2008). "Narrow Stairs". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved July nine, 2013.
15. ^ Costa, Maddy (May 9, 2008). "Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs". The Guardian . Retrieved July 9, 2013.
16. ^ Gill, Andy (May ix, 2008). "Anthology: Expiry Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
17. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs". Mojo (175): 109. June 2008.
18. ^ Hogan, Marc (May 12, 2008). "Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs". Pitchfork . Retrieved Jan 20, 2016.
19. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs". Q (263): 138. June 2008.
20. ^ ^{a b} Hermes, Will (May 15, 2008). "Narrow Stairs". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July ten, 2013.
21. ^ Modell, Josh (May 2008). "The Zen of Ben". Spin. 24 (5): 94. Retrieved Jan xx, 2016.
22. ^ Montgomery, James. "Expiry Cab For Cutie Brand The Leap With Narrow Stairs, In Bigger Than The Sound". MTV. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
23. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Death Cab for Cutie". RobertChristgau.com . Retrieved July 10, 2013.
24. ^ Blender review Archived May 21, 2008, at the Wayback Auto
25. ^ Album reviews at CD Universe
26. ^ The Times review Archived May 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
27. ^ The Observer review
28. ^ Consequence of Audio review
29. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review
30. ^ "Billboard review". Archived from the original on May xiii, 2008. Retrieved July xvi, 2008. {{cite spider web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
31. ^ The Boston Globe review
32. ^ Hartford Courant review Archived July eleven, 2013, at annal.today
33. ^ Paste review
34. ^ At present review
35. ^ Prefix Magazine review
36. ^ Sputnikmusic review
37. ^ Slant Magazine review
38. ^ Hot Press review
39. ^ The Austin Relate review
40. ^ The Village Vocalism review
41. ^ "Certification for Decease Cab for Cutie". RIAA Gold and Platinum Certification Database. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June xviii, 2010.
42. ^ "51st Grammy Awards". Grammy.com. Retrieved Dec 4, 2008.
43. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
44. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs" (in High german). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
45. ^ "Ultratop.exist – Expiry Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
46. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved Baronial ix, 2020.
47. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Decease Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August ix, 2020.
48. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August ix, 2020.
49. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Death Cab for Cutie". Hung Medien. Retrieved August nine, 2020.
50. ^ "Charts.nz – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Hung Medien. Retrieved Baronial 9, 2020.
51. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Hung Medien. Retrieved August ix, 2020.
52. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
53. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Expiry Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
54. ^ "Official Albums Chart Pinnacle 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August nine, 2020.
55. ^ Hasty, Katy (May 21, 2008). "Death Cab For Cutie Scores Outset No. 1 Anthology". Billboard mag . Retrieved May 21, 2008.
56. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved Baronial ix, 2020.
57. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Twelvemonth-Finish 2008". Billboard . Retrieved Nov 25, 2020.
58. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard . Retrieved Nov 25, 2020.
59. ^ "British album certifications – Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June half dozen, 2021.
60. ^ "American anthology certifications – Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrow_Stairs

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