Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album (2001)

Best Song: I Was a Kaleidoscope
Lineup change:

Ben Gibbard – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Chris Walla – Guitar, Keyboards, Production
Nick Harmer – Bass
Michael Schorr – Drums

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There are two things you need to know about The Photo Album. The first is that this is a fan favorite, considered by many Death Cab fans to be one of the best, if not the best, album they ever did. The second is that I absolutely cannot stand this album, and I have no idea why it's so beloved by the fanbase.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong here. The Photo Album sounds basically just like the first two, although there are a few steps towards Transatlanticism, namely pushing Ben Gibbard's vocals more up front and tightening up the instrumental aspects – less droning guitar interplay and more traditional guitar lines. Still, these elements are only there in limited doses. It seems like Ben Gibbard and friends just forgot to write any hooks or decent melodies to go with the material, leaving us with mostly just atmosphere.

Now it's true that the first two albums took several listens to grow on me, so I figured maybe this one was the same. Nope. There really isn't much to this album. The first two tracks – probably the worst on the album – illustrate the problems quite well. I can't really talk about the opening “Steadier Footing” because I'm not entirely sure the song exists. Less than nothing happens in this track. It is the anti-song. The following “A Movie Script Ending” starts off promisingly, with some pretty jangly guitar lines, but then we hit the chorus, which is just annoying. I hate that “High...WAY! High...WAY!” thing a lot. Since when were Death Cab's vocal melodies “annoying”?? Vocal melodies are, like, their thing, man.

The rest of the songs aren't much better. Check out the extremely awkward structure of “We Laugh Indoors,” which kind of rambles along with the most trivial vocal melody I can imagine. Barely modulating your voice every other syllable does not constitute a vocal melody, Ben. You're supposed to be good at this! Then you get the big hook with the “I loved you, Guinevere” line, and yeah, it's catchy and moody, but it's also repeated way too much with none of the instrumental buildup that Death Cab was so good at in the previous two albums. Then out of nowhere it starts rocking out in, admittedly, a way Death Cab hadn't done before, but it doesn't fit at all, it's not interesting, and the song doesn't have any real build up to it.

“Information Travels Faster” is a little better, but it still has the same basic problem of repeating its one and only hook eight thousand times. “Styrofoam Plates” starts off promisingly, but it goes absolutely nowhere over its five and a half minutes, and the lyrics this time are horrendous, to the point of marring the song further than normal. The ending is especially bad. Ben Gibbard, of all people, attempts to growl the last line to predictably laughable results. It doesn't help that the line in question is “You were a bastard in life/Now a bastard in death, YEAH!” Shut the hell up, Ben. Christ.

I almost like “Why You'd Want To Live Here.” It starts off pretty well, and I like the chugging, “rough” guitar riff interplaying with the jangly lines, but it quickly becomes obvious that it's the only idea they have, and the song totally falls apart at the completely non-cathartic, limp chorus. “Blacking Out the Friction” is basically the same exact idea, too.

I think that's the reason why I dislike this album so much. It's a cock tease. Every single damn song starts off like it's going to be good and then just fizzles out by the time it reaches the chorus. It's “Erectile Dysfunction: The Musical.”

Well, almost every song. The Photo Album is saved from complete oblivion by a couple of things. A minor one is “Coney Island” - it wouldn't be a highlight on any other Death Cab album, and it's not very memorable, but it is very pretty, and it doesn't annoy me like almost every other track on here. The big highlight, then, is the pop-rock masterpiece that is “I Was a Kaleidoscope.” It's seriously different from anything they've done before, and somewhat points forward to Transatlanticism. The song is built around a tasty, poppy riff, a classic vocal melody with the tons of hooks you'd expect from Death Cab, and a beautiful bridge with a lovely piano line. Furthermore, it does a great job of marrying its superficially happy melody with the depressing lyrics, soon to become a Death Cab trademark. It's an excellent number, and what it's doing here surrounded by this tripe, I have no idea. I'm glad it is, though, or we'd find no redemption here.

I don't know what went wrong with The Photo Album, but with the exception of “I Was a Kaleidoscope” and I guess “Coney Island,” it is a musical wasteland, devoid of any good melodic ideas or hooks. Not every genre of music needs these things of course, but this is indie-pop-rock. It does. All you're left with is atmosphere, so if all you care about from Death Cab is their admittedly unique atmosphere, I guess you might enjoy this. You can get the same thing with infinitely better songs in any of the preceding or following albums, though.

As for me, the only bigger missteps I can think of from artists who were clearly at the top of their game at the time are For Those About to Rock and Sometime in New York City. The only reasons it's not getting a lower grade are because of the aforementioned great song and the fact it doesn't sound horrible. It's not drenched in electronics or auto-tuned to hell or badly produced or anything. And most songs have at least, like, half a good musical idea. It's just boring to the point of annoyance. While it's on, I just have this completely irrational kneejerk reaction where I just want it to shut up. Get “I Was a Kaleidoscope” and leave the rest at the record store, or the iTunes store, or Amazon mp3, or whatever the hell you crazy kids use these days.

Rating: 8/15