Death Cab For Cutie – Kintsugi

“You’ve haunted me all my life,” runs Ben Gibbard’s refrain near the midpoint of Death Cab For Cutie’s latest; given the ubiquity of the band’s turn-of-the-century output (not to mention the recent reemergence of Gibbard side-project The Postal Service), the feeling’s somewhat mutual.

The band’s eighth full-length record and the last to feature founding guitarist Chris Walla, Kintsugi is, for the most part, exactly what you’d expect from a band at Death Cab’s career juncture. Their indie-emo hybrid is well-polished and ably marshalled by producer Rich Costey, and its component parts – appealingly lovelorn lyrics, bittersweet hooks, charming-to-twee electronic flourishes – are all here in full view. 

So it comes as a welcome surprise that Kintsugi’s strongest moments see the band swap the melancholy and understatement for forays into more uptempo territory. The Ghosts of Beverley Drive injects some creepy atmosphere and thumping drums into proceedings, and the stand-out Good Help (Is Hard To Find) shows that Death Cab aren’t beyond filling the dancefloor at the indie disco just yet.