I also purchased Narrow Stairs, and while I shared Two Yutes’ opinion on the first and even the second listen through, like some of the best albums out there, it grew on me, and the third listen was what solidified it for me.

I do find it an odd if not altogether annoying choice to have the first single on the album be eight and a half minutes, with the “actual” song not kicking in until four and a half minutes. The song is great, and even the repetition of the intro is listenable, however, I do often skip the track when it comes up, as I don’t really feel like waiting for four and a half minutes.

Also, while I love the lyrics to No Sunshine, the music is relatively uninteresting, and my only other complaint is that I feel the metaphor of “The Ice is Getting Thinner” is a pretty obvious metaphor, and if it wasn’t Ben Gibbard, I would probably let him get away with it, but he’s just such a better songwriter than that. That said, I still love the song.

Apart from those three complaints, I feel the rest of the album is not only incredibly solid, but shows a real maturity to not only their sound but their songwriting as well. When I read the lyrics to most of the songs on the album (much like every other Death Cab album I’ve purchased), my response was almost always “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a song written about that.” “You Can Do Better than Me” has a Beach Boys-y sound, and has a tongue in cheek attitude, while at the same time being something we can all relate too. “Grapevine Fires” definitely falls into the typical Death Cab category of “heartbreakingly beautiful” and “Your New Twin Sized Bed” and “Long Division” both reflect Gibbard’s amazing way of lyrically encapsulating the often futile and hopeless feeling of being human.

However, the two true gems of the album are definitely Cath and Bixby Canyon Bridge. Cath is a song about a girl who marries someone without truly being in love, and it is both heartbreaking, beautiful, and very unique. Also the guitar riff can get stuck in your head for days.

Moving on, though, to my favorite song on the album is Bixby Canyon Bridge, and while at first seeming to be a pretty decent song from a Death Cab perspective, it grows with such significance when knowing the circumstances in the lyrics. I’m somewhat speculating here, as I’ve not given Gibbard a call to verify this, but from what I’ve read, the Bixby Canyon Bridge is a rather scenic bridge in California, where supposedly several different infamous artists went for inspiration (most notably Langston Hughes and Jack Kerouac). Knowing that, the song takes on an incredibly deep meaning, as the lyrics describe Ben himself going to the bridge for inspiration, and not receiving it. I find it so interesting and refreshing to hear a band at this point in their careers (basically transitioning from being a “big” band, to being a “huge” band) to still have this kind of honesty in their songwriting. I think of lines in particular like:

“And I want to know my fate if I keep up this way”

which seems like Ben himself is wondering what his musical legacy will eventually be, which makes fans of his (like myself) feel part of his journey.

And he ends the song in a somewhat pessimistic yet empathetic way:

“And then it started getting dark
I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you”

I really want to know who the “you” is in that statement. I’m filling in the blanks that it’s Langston Hughes, but who knows.

It’s heartbreaking, it’s beautiful, it’s delicately and enjoyably human. It’s another Death Cab for Cutie album.