Apr 18, 2008

Cab carries fans in new direction

Group takes risks steering course

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

The tremendous success of Washington state's Death Cab for Cutie hasn't stalled the group's creativity. The band's continuing growth and evolution can be clearly heard on its soon-to-be-released record "Narrow Stairs." The ambitious album delivers in dazzling style.

"I'm proud of it," says bassist Nick Harmer. "We really pushed ourselves on this album, took some risks. We've been conscious over the years of not writing ourselves into a musical cul-de-sac. There are moments on this album (when) we had open and honest conversations with ourselves about the places that we've been musically in the past, the ground we've covered, and really tried to make conscious breaks with some of that stuff.

"Sometimes we would ask ourselves what we would instinctually do and then not do that. Sometimes that would work out fantastically and other times we'd realize it would be better not to make so much of a change. But there was a real playfulness in the studio this time around."

Their previous album, "Plans" was a bit less fun for the band. "That was the real pressure record for us, whether we would have admitted it at the time or not," Harmer said. "There was so much transition happening around us as we moved from the indie world into the major label world. The profile of the band was growing. There was all of this change happening. We did our best to isolate ourselves from that. But it was still kind of there and weighing on us.

"We got through that period. We're still a band. We're still happy and healthy. It gave us a lot of wind in our sails and the confidence to push ourselves further this time."

Harmer looks forward to previewing some of the new songs live, especially at the Fillmore. "We love the Fillmore. The first time we played there, it was such an honor. It's always fun, as a music fan, to see places that have so much history, so many stories, such connections to rock legends."

The place Death Cab began was Western Washington University in Bellingham. The band's early indie albums earned acclaim. They broke through to the mainstream with 2003's "Transatlanticism." Tracks from that album appeared on the soundtracks of hit TV shows and movies.

The group's impressive sales figures enabled them to sign a long-term deal with Atlantic Records that gave them creative freedom.

"We were assured that we could continue to be the band that we wanted to be, without influence or meddling from people we'd never met," Harmer said. "Atlantic recognized that we'd built something that they didn't need to tinker with and change, that it was working just fine."

Their accelerating fame didn't spoil Death Cab's vision. "We were never going to be a band that would sign with a major label and then, a month afterwards, start hanging out with supermodels and doing reality television shows," Harmer said.

The group's members have used celebrity as a tool for helping their favorite causes. Harmer is involved with 826 Seattle, a nonprofit center dedicated to helping youngsters develop writing skills. A portion of pre-sale tickets for Death Cab's shows benefits public school lunch programs. The band plans to work for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008. "Those kinds of things are important to us," Harmer said.

It's important for them to have balanced lives, as well. So they took eight months off before working on "Narrow Stairs." "That was our time to keep ourselves grounded and get involved again in things we'd neglected during the crazy tour schedule. We seek to do that as individuals and encourage each other to do that as a group," Harmer said. "I think that's why we've been able to continue being a band for going on 12 years."

Musically, the group will continue to take chances. "There are some bands that benefit a lot from (taking chances). And then there are some bands that zero in early on, on what they do well and continue to deliver that, and that's awesome. I don't want AC/DC to turn in a Zappa record. I want them to turn in another AC/DC record," Harmer said. "But certainly there are bands we admire and look up to that push themselves, try things that sometimes don't work and sometimes do work to great effect.

"For me, as a fan of a band, it's always exciting to allow them to take you someplace that maybe you didn't expect them to go."

Death Cab relishes exploring the unexpected. "It's fun to surprise ourselves first, and then we always hope that translates into some level of surprise for everyone else. There's an excitement there. It feeds the creative process," Harmer said.

Fans can't wait to see where Death Cab takes them next. "At the core of this band, we're just four musicians who are invested in making the best music (we) know how to make. We're music fans as much as we are musicians. We've always tried to preserve a level of honesty and authenticity in what we do, without ever becoming too self-aware or too bogged down in fashion.

"Maybe that's why people are connecting to us," Harmer said. "I hope so. But that's just speculative. Maybe they just think our drummer's cute."