And just when you thought Death Cab for Cutie couldn’t commercialize themselves anymore, Kintsugi, their eighth studio album, is released. I want to like it, I really do, but absolutely none of this seems right.
This being said, Kintsugi is not necessarily an awful album, it just doesn’t sound like Death Cab. A band once filled with meaningful lyrics, Ben Gibbard now repeats, “I don’t know why I don’t know why” for a solid portion of their song “The Ghosts Of Beverly Drive”. I felt like I was drowning in melancholy, and not in a cool way.
“You’re my wanderer, little wanderer off across the sea. You’re my wanderer, little wanderer won’t you wander back to me. You’re my wanderer, little wanderer how I wish that you could see. You’re my wanderer, little wanderer how I need you back with me. Back with me.” This is the actual chorus from their song “Little Wanderer”. I hope you can all understand my disappointment.
There are a couple songs that keep this album from being completely unlistenable, one of them being “Hold No Guns”. The song carries the album as one of the more lyrically formulated songs, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s also sung with heart-wrenching honesty. Relating a relationship to a war is a little much, but I’ll let it slide.
If you like old Death Cab, if they molded your musical taste as a moody middle school student and if you feel as though you have a deep personal connection to their entire Transatlanticism album, I highly suggest skipping over this album. If you are interested in soft adult rock with catchy lyrics (read as bland music), then look no further.