Death Cab fans can expect some new material soon: Nick Harmer told MTV that the band is releasing an EP called The Open Door, which includes material recording during the Narrow Stairs sessions:

When we finished Narrow Stairs, there were four extra songs that, because we were trying to put together an album, we ended up not including them — it’s not like they’re castoffs or anything; they’re part of the Narrow Stairs experience … They needed to have a proper home, and the EP is it. There’s going to be four songs on it, plus the original version of ‘Talking Bird’ that features Ben singing and playing the ukulele. It’ll be out this year, I think. And then, you know, back to the grind again

As far as the current grind, though, folks seemed to dig the Walter Robot-animated and universally sad “Grapevine Fires” video. Harmer, seen in the van above, had thoughts on that as well:

I’m a huge comic book fan, so there was that … Plus, in my head, I couldn’t see any kind of live-action video that wouldn’t come off as heavy-handed or overwrought. So we knew what we didn’t want it to be. Plus, we knew we should do a cameo, which meant we’d get to be animated, so that was a bonus … I sort of handle the visual stuff for the band, so they let me go with it. And I spoke to the guys in Walter Robot on the phone and then didn’t hear from them again until earlier this year … So I had no idea how it was going to turn out. … I either thought they were going to nail it, or the whole thing was going to be a complete disaster.

You can read the rest of the story at MTV. And remember: Before Harmer was a cartoon cameo in a video by his popular band, he was a City Of Tacoma Refuse Department worker. So don’t give up, even if it is only a matter of time before we all burn.

• Death Cab For Cutie – “Long Division” (Seattle Session)Download

Narrow Stairs is out now on Atlantic.