Apparently, I live under a rock. I’ve entirely missed the hype about this band, and so I was surprised to learn this is not Death Cab For Cutie’s first release. Like I said, under a rock.
If you believe Google, DCFC is immensely popular, judging by the sheer number of hits that return. They are all over the Internet and have generated a significant buzz, an example of how the Internet has replaced MTV in modern music as the main source for learning about a band. [Editor's note: Actually, most consider DCFC's big break to have been when producer Josh Schwarz of the Top 20 Fox network teen soap The O.C. decided to make the lead character on the show an obsessive fan of the band. That was in 2003, the year before they signed with Atlantic. So yeah, it must have been a big rock... ;-)] Although maybe that’s an understatement, because the circumstances under which I listened to this band are as follows: a friend came over to my cubicle at work the other day and asked me if I wanted to listen to this disc. Upon listening, I found that I think that DCFC is good at what they do in the same way that Rush is good at what they do; the group plays introspective songs and delivers them with emotion. 
Vocalist Ben Gibbard is a compelling storyteller. “I Will Possess Your Heart” is the opus on this release, clocking in at
Following that is “No Sunlight”, a mid-tempo excursion that serves as a perfect disjointed union of music and lyrics. While the instrumentation itself is cheerful, Gibbard’s words are pessimistic and dreary as he sings about his transformation from a youth, during which he would enjoy the warmth and optimism of the sun. He then describes how “with every year that came to pass more clouds appeared, till the sky went black and there was no sunlight,” commenting upon his own gradual lapse in idealism.
Gibbard’s poetic streak continues in “Your New Twin Sized Bed,” when he sings that “You look so defeated lying there in your new twin sized bed / with a single pillow underneath your single head” before asking “What’s the point of holding on to what never gets used other than a sick desire for self-abuse?” Equally interesting is the concise “You Can Do Better Than Me,” on which he paints a vibrant picture in a scant 1:59 runtime with lines like “I’m starting to feel we stay together out of fear of dying alone / ... I fall in love every day and I feel like a fool … no one could ever look at me like you do… / You can do better than me but I can’t do better than you.” Another highlight is drummer Jason McGerr’s pattern in “Cath….” Instead of playing the straight-forward timekeeping standard during the verse, McGerr makes life interesting.
Death Cab for Cutie strikes me as the kind of band that will simply exist for the sake of expunging Gibbard’s misgivings and fears about life, and Gibbard’s subdued vocal delivery is entertaining and intriguing. Overall, “Cath…,” “You Can Do Better Than Me,” and “Your New Twin Sized Bed” are the highlights on this release.