Death Cab For Cutie: I Built You A Tower, And Other Material

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There are few bands that have soundtracked as many bedroom-floor breakdowns as Death Cab for Cutie, so Friday night at The Troxy was always going to be a memorable evening. Tucked neatly away in East London, the Art Deco venue fitted with sweeping balconies and subtle grandeur aptly suited a band whose music feels at once both expansive and intimate.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Gibbard opened with 'Riptides,' a song from the band’s latest album, I Built You A Tower; the steady beat carried through the crowd, rippling anticipation across the floor. Crossing off more of their new material, such as ‘Punching The Flowers’ and ‘How Heavenly A State,' the band had an undeniable hold on the audience. Eyes were fixated on the stage, whilst heads subtly bobbed to their lesser-known songs. The crowd was an attentive one.

Then came the line that seemed to capture much of the evening:

‘We don’t have hits, but we do have classics.'

It rang out just before the band relented and turned to the songs everyone was waiting for. Their 2006 hit, ‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark' was met with an extra chorus, joined by a gentle hum of voices from every corner of the room. With individuals moved to tears, it begs the question: why a slight air of hesitation towards their so-called ‘classics’?

From there, the set flowed between moods, times, and places. The audience adapted to these changes, sometimes listening with ears alone and at other times joining in. Death Cab held the room's attention, but it was clearly more rapt for their older material; the gap between these two moods of the night was hard to ignore. New songs were met with respect, whilst the older ones saw a deeper devotion.

That is not to criticise the band’s ambitions. There should be no shame in the transfer between eras — to redefine is also to reminisce and to progress, not necessarily to abandon. With almost 30 years under their belt, it is unfair to expect that band to stand still through their journey. The unfamiliar silence received after new material is perhaps an essential, unskippable part of an artist’s story. I Built You A Tower deserves its spot in the setlist, and the art lies in how it integrates with the band’s classics.

Still, the new is exciting and fresh, but that does not mean the old should be forgotten. Death Cab For Cutie was built in the late nights, the messy bedrooms, and the water-stained journals; that is the realm in which these songs exist. Judging by the manner of the audience in The Troxy, many had spent those exact nights with the band and were glad to be reminded of it and the nostalgia that accompanies it.

So the band should wear its new material proudly but not altogether discard the old jumpers sitting at the back of the wardrobe. They may not be the newest thing you own, but they have moulded to the snug fit of your body, and on a Friday night, everyone seemed happy to pull them on again.

Edited by Music Co-Editor, Mahak Naddafi