Death Cab have actually released a lot of EPs over their career, but this is the only one with much significance, and even that's fairly minimal. Open Door is a short EP, composed primarily of Narrow Stairs outtakes – apparently “Little Bribes” was composed and recorded at a different time, but I can't find any information as to when. At any rate, this will be a very short review as befits a short album, because there's not a lot to talk about.
All of these songs are quite good, and would fit in easily on Narrow Stairs. I think they'd even be highlights on there. “I Was Once a Loyal Lover” is catchy, energetic pop-punk and “Diamond and a Tether” and “My Mirror Speaks” are both fine pop-rock tracks. My favorite is the opening “Little Bribes,” which admittedly doesn't have much going on musically, but has an excellent, classic power-pop vocal melody that I could listen to all day. And finally, there's a mandolin only demo of “Talking Bird” that still isn't too thrilling, but I suppose I like the more intimate arrangement for the song better.
There's no mystery as to why they left these songs of Narrow Stairs – if Ben Gibbard thought his lyrics on that one were too whiny and self-pitying, he must've been horrified by these, except “Little Bribes.” The only mystery is why he released them at all if he was so embarrassed by them. I'm glad he did, though, as it's a perfectly enjoyable companion piece to their previous album. It's also refreshing to see that Death Cab, unlike many of their contemporaries, remember how long EPs are supposed to be – a nice little 15 minutes, not the full-length album so-called EPs of bands like Arcade Fire and, my personal favorite, Sufjan Stevens' ridiculous 55 minute long "Epic Play," as I like to call it. If you liked Narrow Stairs, you'll like this also.
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