Days ago, our favorite indie rockers from the late ‘90s Death Cab For Cutie dropped their ninth studio album, Thank You for Today. This follows the release of their lead single on the album, Gold Rush – a mature track that might help you come to terms with the passage of time.
But before you take a listen to their latest sound, let’s not forget that they soundtracked heartbreak and hormones during our teenage years. To celebrate the release of their ninth album, here are the 9 best musical moments of Death Cab For Cutie.
1. We Followed Him Into The Dark
Although his voice tends to make us cry, we haven’t stopped listening to Ben Gibbard sing, I Will Follow You into the Dark since its release in 2005. Featured on their fifth album Plans, the single is the band’s most iconic and best-selling single to date.
2. Our Teenage Soundtrack
Death Cab is known for capturing teen angst, so it makes sense that the famous teens on The O.C. were listening to them so much. If you were watching along with the rest of us, you’ve definitely heard - and even seen them - on the teen drama television series. Not only did they soundtrack the show, but they appeared on an episode to perform live at The Bait Shop.
3. From Angsty Teens To Vampires And Werewolves
Death Cab wrote and recorded a song specifically for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In fact, the band released Meet Me On The Equinox as the album’s first single. For everyone who said the Twilight soundtrack was actually good… now you know why (The Killers, Muse and Bon Iver were also on it).
4. Transatlanticism, ‘Nuff Said
Largely regarded as the band’s greatest album, Transatlanticism is Death Cab’s fourth studio album released in 2003. A story about long-distance love – this album always triggers the feels.
5. Hitting #1
Didn't think it could get better than Transatlanticism, but then it did. Death Cab’s 2008 album Narrow Stairs was the band's first to hit #1 on the US Albums chart. Success doesn't always stem from a good place according to Gibbard who said the album was their most depressing record yet.
6. Way Back When…
Back in 2010, Gibbard played a solo acoustic show at Seattle’s Crocodile. Later in the performance, his former wife Zooey Deschanel accompanied him on stage to perform a duet. The couple covered Aussie legends The Seekers’ I’ll Never Find Another You. The song choice seems a bit ironic now...
7. There's A First Time For Everything
Last year, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary by releasing an audio recording of their very first show, which was performed at The Pacer House in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. Gibbard told fans the show “was one of the greatest nights of my life at the time and its significance has only grown since”. Ya got that right!
8. They Made It Down Under
Death Cab was last seen at our favourite music festival, Splendour In The Grass in 2015. The band performed their latest album at the time, Kintsugi, for the first time ever.
9. Different Band, Same Guy
If you didn't know, Ben Gibbard was also one half of the electronic act, The Postal Service. Our fave guy was responsible for writing the duo’s hit single Such Great Heights. This might be cheating since this isn't a strictly Death Cab musical moment, but we're just giving credit where it’s due!
We can’t help but feel nostalgic when we hear Death Cab come on in a coffee shop (which happens more than you would think). Although you associate them with the sound of your past, take a listen to their latest sound – they might just fit your current soundtrack!
Listen to Death Cab For Cutie's new record here.
