Album Review: Asphalt Meadows by Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie's 10th studio album Asphalt Meadows represents a return to the band's classic sound, most strongly resembling 2000's We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes and 2011's Codes and Keys. While the Pacific Northwestern indie pioneers' inherent romanticism still lingers throughout Asphalt Meadows, the album's intimacy is often underscored by a bleak apocalypticism previously unexplored. This accounts for some of the album's appeal, its moody soundscapes and weary lyrics reflecting the disillusioned exhaustion of a mid-pandemic populace.

Full Review >>

Time passed and that was that Some, I think, will be disappointed to find that Asphalt Meadows doesn't quite live up to the promise of 'Roman Candles'. Nor, exactly, does it fulfil that promise. Released all the way back in May, 'Roman Candles' was met with near-universal praise, whetting the appetites of fans of Death Cab for Cutie, and stoking a renewed sense of excitement for the future of the band.

Full Review >>

On their 10th album there’s something about Ben Gibbard’s plaintive vocals, combined with his band’s ability to create a dreamy melody, which can transport you back in time Death Cab For Cutie are one of those bands who feel like they should be frozen in the early 2000s – in a world where the television show The OC is on a constant loop, bands like The Shins, Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley ring out wherever you go, and Zooey Deschanel and Natalie Portman alternate shifts as President. A better world, some may say. Asphalt Meadows is Death Cab’s 10th album, and although it’s a very different world to which their debut You Can Play These Songs With Chords was released to, they sound exactly the same, 25 years later.

Full Review >>