Cross your fingers for a starry sky over downtown Des Moines on July 7—it’d be the perfect backdrop for the ringing melodies and lush instrumentals that have placed headliners Death Cab for Cutie among the biggest acts of the indie-alt universe. They’ve been making their elegant rock for 15 years, but it never seems to lose its intrigue. Maybe that’s because artists Benjamin Gibbard, Nick Harmer, Chris Walla and Jason McGerr haven’t stopped pushing into new dimensions with the lyrics, instrumentals and production techniques that produce their celestial sound.
Gibbard started Death Cab for Cutie in 1997 as a student at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, collaborating with Harmer, Walla and drummer Nathan Good to develop a sensitive, synthesized sound that layered Gibbard’s vulnerable, intelligent-sounding voice over a trippy mix of instruments, including the organ and glockenspiel. It catapulted them onto the national scene as their tracks were featured in films and TV series including Six Feet Under and The O.C. Single “I Will Possess Your Heart” was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 51st Grammy Awards and the album Narrow Stairs and the Open Door (2007) was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album the following year.
Their current tour supports their seventh full-length album, Grammy nominated Codes and Keys, which reflects the band’s interest in vintage keyboards and piano soundscapes. Several numbers on the new album feature sumptuously extended instrumentals, including “Unobstructed Views”—whose elegant lyrics alone would make it a masterpiece.
Performing on Saturday, July 7
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