6. Narrow Stairs (2008)

If Keys And Codes is Death Cab’s exhaustion album, Narrow Stairs displayed the onset of fatigue. Imagine, if you would, that this album were a Death Cab For Cutie Fan Choose Your Own Adventure, and the objective was to find the new sound the band would tackle as they moved forward. The options were numerous: You had “Pity And Fear” for continental tourism laid over Western sparseness. If you’re looking for festival generics, “Grapevine Fires” delivers. And those who like their rock songs long and jammy, “I Will Possess Your Heart” does the trick. All of these things could have been finessed into brighter versions of themselves, although “Possess” still feels deeply in the canon, especially if you imagine it without the clanging piano. “Cath…” feels indebted to ’90s power-pop band Gin Blossoms, but still beams with the most Death Cab-iness on the album. Gibbard’s vocals are layered for emphasis, Walla riffs like it’s 1998, and a devastating narrative about a nervous bride who’s broken her vows before she even got a chance to say them plays over the whole thing.