Preview: Death Cab for Cutie at The Anthem

Photo courtesy of Death Cab for Cutie.

It’s been a long slumber for Death Cab for Cutie fans, but the band has arisen and is back to grace us with their quixotic sounds. Their most recent release, “Thank You for Today,” is the band’s ninth album and is the first without original member Chis Walla. This new record was released in August, following a painstaking three-year gap since the band’s last album, “Kintsugi” in 2015. However, the break and Walla’s departure hasn’t veered lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist, Ben Gibbard, from preserving the band’s authentic melodies.

“Thank You for Today” keeps all of the classic Death Cab tropes fans have come to know and love. Airy guitar and whimsical vocals melt together to take you on a tranquil journey through what feels like a daydream. The tunes wrap around the record’s wistful narrative. Gibbard said the record’s story is about “Looking forwards and backwards simultaneously…After all, every decision you’ve ever made in your life has led to this [today].” To unpack Gibbard’s narrative, every moment that you’ve experienced has collectively created your present circumstance. Therefore, the name, “Thank You for Today,” is a nod to appreciating those experiences and how they’ve helped you arrive at the current point in your journey.

Now that we’ve had a solid month to listen to the album, what kind of performance can we expect when Death Cab for Cutie visits us at the Anthem on October 17? We anticipate the band’s first single, “Gold Rush,” off the album, to make the setlist. Death Cab has released a variety of styles of “Gold Rush” to satisfy whatever soundscape you’re craving. There’s the acoustic Spotify Single rendition, the electronic Mansionair Remix, but we expect them to perform the jamming version as seen on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show.

Overall, we can predict the band to transport us through a dreamscape of pep-in-your-step kind of beats infused with sorrowful lyrics. We hope the vehicle of these moody vibes will be new songs like “Autumn Love” mixed with fan favorites like “Crooked Teeth” and “Transatlanticism.” You won’t want to miss this chance to relive the music you listened to get you through your eighth grade Algebra homework. Grab tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie and supporting act, Charly Bliss here.