Death Cab for Cutie:Codes and Keys

Every once in a while there’s a need to switch things up, a necessity to look on the bright side in order to resist melancholy comfort. Every now and again the clouds part, and the rays of the effervescent sun allow you to be, simply put, happy.

Death Cab for Cutie has a distinct sound ridden with guitar chords and piano melodies, paired with the equally melodic instrument that is Ben Gibbard’s voice. Add a bass and drummer, all playing in a purposefully lackluster yet brilliant way, and you have Death Cab. Codes and Keys is no different; you can still distinguish Gibbard’s infectious tone. Yet the piano is selfishly the center of attention in the majority of the songs, no longer sharing the spotlight with its bandmate, the guitar, while the drums still hold the backbone of the story that is Codes and Keys.

Codes and Keys is more uplifting than any of the previous Death Cab albums. Sure  “Sound of Settling” from 2003’s Transatlanticism is upbeat the same way Smokie Robinson’s “Teardrops of a Clown,” is. The sweet beat allows you to dance and tricks your mind into happiness, but when you actually listen to the lyrics, the song is extremely sad. The title track of Codes and Keys includes lyrics that seem discouraging, “You’re on the floor, fearful of what’s outside your door,” but they are, in fact more encouraging, as codes and keys, “can protect you from the pang of jealousy.” These lyrics, ultimately ending with the repetition of “We are alive,” are considerably more hopeful than complacent.

“Stay Young, Go Dancing,” clearly explains where the happiness that Gibbard and his clan are feeling, comes from. Of course, it’s no surprise that it’s a girl, “cause when she sings it sounds like a symphony.” Family seems to have become significantly more important to the quartet. Gibbard, who recently married actress/singer Zooey Deschanel, and took up running in order to replace drinking, is a little lyrically corny, especially for cynics. But under every cynical shell is a warmth that longs to show its face every once in a while, and the three minutes of the last track on the album are an opportune time for that warmth the peek through.

Overall, Death Cab’s newest effort is a sunny hour in the otherwise beautifully overcast day that is their career. The album is full of sweet songs that are upbeat in taste and show where the band is currently focusing—family. Songs like “Monday Morning,” “St. Peter’s Cathedral,” and “Portable Television,” are reminiscent of the old Death Cab, but with a new outlook on life. Overall, the tenth addition to Death Cab for Cutie’s catalog is a nice departure from their usual melancholia.

Atlantic Records

8.5 out of 10 dropps