For more than 15 years, Death Cab for Cutie has made music that's unapologetically emotional. But what happens when a band whose entire identity is wrapped up in chronicling the angst of adolescence and early adulthood accepts that it has come of age?
Death Cab for Cutie's maturation has come with its own speed bumps. The band's past few years have been marred by very adult breakups both personal (frontman Ben Gibbard divorced wife Zooey Deschanel in 2012) and professional (Chris Walla, the band's instrumentalist and longtime producer, parted ways with the group last year). And now, Death Cab's first album as a trio, Kintsugi, named for the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by filling in its cracks with precious metals, suggests that the band is ready to rebuild.
Kintsugi sees the band finally accepting its progression to full-fledged adulthood. And while it's a polished record, it still seethes with that relatable pain and longing that initially made Death Cab so popular more than a decade ago.
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Amid the craziness that comes with a new album release, bassist Nick Harmer spoke to The Week via email about the ambient music that calms him down. Below, six instrumentals that quiet his mind:
1. Brian Eno, "An Ending (Ascent)"
"When I am on the tour bus, laying down in the dark and feeling the road rattle and shake under me, I play this song frequently. I like to close my eyes and pretend that the bus is a ship carrying me out to the farthest, empty reaches of the universe, that I am alone and floating through space seeing things that no human eyes have ever seen before. Something about that meditation calms me and allows me to let go of whatever stress or anxiety I've been feeling from the day and drift off into sleep. I particularly enjoy hearing the human voice blend into electronic synths, and there is a majesty to this track that few other pieces of music have been able to capture for me."
5. Jonsi & Alex, "Boy 1904"
"The first time I heard this song I felt like I accidentally walked into a secret ceremony that I wasn't supposed to be at. [It sounds like] a hymn for a gathering of aliens at the bottom of an abyss."
6. Jon Hopkins, "Abandon Window"
"This is the soundtrack to the last shot of the most incredible film that will never be made. I love how the song starts with a piano so closely recorded you can hear fingers hitting keys and weight shifting on a bench. I am right next to the player, in the very same room holding my breath. But ever so slowly, I begin to float away from the piano, the sound of the room comes in, I begin to hear space and texture. Almost like a camera lifting up and away and pulling all the way back from a tight close up. I drift away so far I can't even hear the piano anymore and everything just fades into the ether. Roll credits."
Kintsugi is out now on Atlantic.
(This interview was condensed and edited by Samantha Rollins.)
Watch the video for Death Cab for Cutie's "Black Sun" below:
More in this series...
* Jon Hopkins' 6 favorite songs
* Lucius' 6 favorite songs for starting the day right
* Sylvan Esso's 6 favorite songs from growing up
