Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Atlantic)
4/5
By: Michael Lewin
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Death Cab For Cutie are nearly grand old statesmen of US indie these days - they've been around for ages and were even considered emo back in the day. Before, y'know, whatever the hell it was happened to emo and it became this thin, weedy skate punk crap sung by fat goths. In some places - well, in HC basements in Washington - Death Cab were considered fourth generation emo, and that was considered a travesty to the days of Portraits of Past and Indian Summer.
But then, maybe they were screamo... oh hooo, wait; don't let me start on screamo. I mean, The Automatic?!!! Where's yer Saeitia 12"s, eh?
But, er...Death Cab.
Rockfeedback can't really accuse them of being "grand old Statesmen". In fact, we won't. We couldn't, because we love accuracy almost as much as we love being right (and by gum do we love being right). Also, because there's always something fundamentally youthful about their presence in your ears - too much of the pretty vocals, pretty-pretty lyrics and pretty-pretty-pretty melodies for them to ever be counted alongside the wizened Modest Mouse's abstractions about landmasses or surfing dogs (or whatever else goes on in that kid's head) set to discordance. Maybe it's a lingering fourth-gen-emo thing.
We can, then, rule out "grand" and "old" because they can still soundtrack teen lovers in Americana bedrooms without requiring both to be a little too obscenely into music. You remember - you're making out and you say, "hey, I've got the most romantic, sweethearted song for us to listen to while we get our flowers popped". Then you put on 'Debaser', and sweet, fat Frank wails about eating the sliced eyeball from 'Un Chien Andalou' and stuff. Then they leave, and you wonder why.
"Statesmen", however, can remain; they've jumped ship to a major, soundtracked the O.C., knocked out a brilliant side-project and last year's 'Plans' was Grammy-nominated, all helping slowly push them into the new-Anthemic, nipping Coldplay's heels.
Coming from Plans, 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' is a delicate, gentle-natured whimsy of a song on the surface, a twelve-year old girl's kiss on the cheek of her grandfather.
Beneath, it's a miserablist 30-something contemplating DEATH - contemplating the death of his lover, and so contemplating his subsequent suicide to be closer to her. Also, contemplating Catholicism. Much the same.
Perhaps they can have the "grand" back, at least. And despite all that, it's still very, very pretty.
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