On Tracking Angle! Death Cab For Cutie - I Built You A Tower Review

On grieving Millennial optimism, the resiliency of iPods, "mature" breakup albums, and "growing up."

At last, a late-career highlight from indie rock titans Death Cab For Cutie. I've reviewed it for Tracking Angle

“My god, it’s like my iPod!” I gushed incredulously to friends I’ve known since those days, over some small-town Mexican restaurant abomination called a sangrita. "All we need is Motion City Soundtrack and Arcade Fire!"

Death Cab For Cutie (and all the different spellings that wound up in our iTunes libraries) were a staple band for overly-sensitive girls on the wrong side of Gen Z. We were hopelessly swept up in the forces of Millennial optimism, which evaporated just as we turned those tassels on our grad caps around. For graying dudes in tennis shoes, women who put on NPR as they drive back and forth from (insert name that ends in “-eigh”)’s play group, all who know the pain of growing those damn razor-cut Myspace bangs out, and this precious subset of elder Zoomer girls, Death Cab’s music is held close to the heart.

Breakup albums can roll in the troughs of their writers’ acerbic anger, snarkily reminding their subjects that “It may be a little biased/But at least I spelled your name right.” I Built You A Tower, is remarkable in that it paints such a clear picture of such a labyrinth, yet it chooses not to paint the faces. death cab for cutie i built you a tower review

Read my review of I Built You A Tower now, on Tracking Angle  

death cab for cutie i built you a tower review