Death Cab For Cutie were formed in 1997 in Bellingham, Washington. The band consists of Ben Gibbard on lead vocals, guitar, and piano, Chris Walla on guitar, production, and piano, Nick Harmer on bass, and Jason McGerr on drums. The band took their name from a song that was written and performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in The Beatles 1967 film, Magical Mystery Tour. The song's name was taken from a pulp fiction crime magazine of the same name. The band initially began as a vehicle for Ben Gibbard's solo project. His first album, You Can Play These Songs With Chords was released in 1997 and eventually lead to being signed by Barsuk Records. Ben decided that with the huge success of the project, he expanded it into a full time band and recruited Chris Walla on guitars, Nick Harmer on bass, and Nathan Good on drums. Many of their early tracks were recorded in the basement of a home that Ben lived in the Bellingham area.
The group released the album Something About Airplanes in 1998, to generally well received reviews by the indie music press and followed that up two years later with We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes which was another critical success. The band later embarked on their first full U.S. tour and upon completion of that, went into the studio to work on their next album, The Photo Album which came out in 2001. Jason McGerr joined the group on drums in 2003, just in time for the band's next release Transatlanticism later that year. This album was the band's breakout commercial success, containing such memorable tracks as "Title and Registration", my personal favorite Death Cab song "The Sound of Settling", and the album's title track. The band 's music appeared in a number of hit TV shows including The OC, Six Feet Under, and CSI: Miami.
The band decided to switch to a major label, Atlantic Records for their next release, Plans which came out in 2005. The album eventually went platinum on the strength of such songs as "Soul Meets Body", "Crooked Teeth", and "I Will Follow You Into The Dark". The band embarked on a lengthy tour after that and released their next effort, Narrow Stairs in 2008. The album debuted at #1 upon its release, selling 144,000 copies in its first week in stores, eventually going gold and producing such classic tracks like "I Will Possess Your Heart" "No Sunlight", "Cath", and "Grapevine Fires". The band was chosen to appear on the soundtrack for the Twilight film "New Moon" and wrote the song "Meet Me on the Equinox" for the movie, which peaked at #8 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart.
The band is set to release their next album "Codes and Keys" on May 31 with the first single "You Are A Tourist" world premiering today across most major alternative rock stations. Death Cab For Cutie were one of the first indie bands that I grew to appreciate almost immediately upon hearing them. Plans remains my favorite Death Cab album and is the one album I listen to when I need some quiet reflection, a companion for some late night drives, or just to simply escape from reality for awhile.
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