CD Shopper
Search Advanced SearchView Cart   Checkout   
 Location:  Home > Music > General > The Photo Album  
Categories
Music
DVD Movies
Video Games
Audio & Video
Books
Computers

The Photo Album

The Photo Album

zoom enlarge 

Other Views:
Artist: Death Cab For Cutie
Label: Barsuk
Category: Music

List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $13.99
You Save: $2.99 (18%)



New (39) Used (13) from $8.00

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 72 reviews
Sales Rank: 5060

Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5

MPN: 31021
UPC: 655173102121
EAN: 6551731021214
ASIN: B00005ORA5

Release Date: October 9, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Tracks:

  • Steadier Footing
  • A Movie Script Ending
  • We Laugh Indoors
  • Information Travels Faster
  • Why You'd Want To Live Here
  • Blacking Out The Friction
  • I Was A Kaleidoscope
  • Styrofoam Plates
  • Coney Island
  • Debate Exposes Doubt

Similar Items:

  • Transatlanticism
  • We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
  • Something About Airplanes
  • Plans
  • Narrow Stairs

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Death Cab for Cutie turn difficult personal issues into literary rock songs while straddling the narrow line between blissful pop and driving indie rock. The Northwest act's songs soar high like Built to Spill's or Beulah's, and almost every track on The Photo Album is as musically bouncy and upbeat as the best of those bands. As catchy as the songs on The Photo Album may be, though, it's really front man Benjamin Gibbard's comfort with laying his emotional issues bare that makes this an excellent album. "Styrofoam Plates" is the most stunning track, with words that leave chills long after they've disappeared. As Gibbard sings about anger for a dead father ("It's not quite a stretch to say you were not quite a father / But a donor of seeds to a poor single mother / That would raise us alone / We never saw the money / It went down your throat down the hole in your belly"), his stark honesty makes this dysfunctional family story the most compelling piece of this album. The other issues of clumsy relationships pale a little in comparison, but The Photo Album still leaves little doubt that Death Cab deserve all the indie rock accolades they have received. --Jennifer Maerz

Album Description
3rd full-length from Seattle indie darlings features guest appearances by Sean Nelson, John Vanderslice & James Mendenhall ,on Barsuk Records.


Customer Reviews:   Read 67 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars Catchy melodies, personal lyrics   November 13, 2008
I knew that DCFC was an indie rock band that had received a lot of favorable reviews from the critics. I had listened to Transatlanticism and Plans in the past and thought that they were all right but not especially memorable. Even so, I picked up The Photo Album when I saw it in a sale bin. Unlike my previous experiences listening to DCFC, The Photo Album immediately grabbed my attention with its catchy melodies and personal lyrics. Several other reviewers mentioned how the drums are given a very central role in the music, which I liked a lot. I highly recommend this CD and plan to go back and give Transatlantacism and Plans a couple of more listens.


3 out of 5 stars Consistent, though modest for their standards then   September 23, 2008
3 1/2

Indie-light band was in the throngs of making earnest, alternative rock at this point, and how effortless some of this tighter, more angular work seems when stacked against often strained and self-conscious current recordings. Not yet reaching their creative peak but offering plenty worth revisiting, TPA feels like a valid medium between Deathcab's quirky and melodic sides.



4 out of 5 stars A Truly Wonderful Album   August 23, 2008
I never like paring down a group's work to the efforts of one member, but Ben Gibbard deserves recognition for his lyric-writing alone. His sometimes hopeful, often sad, always warm lyrics strike such a chord with me that I've actually listened to the album in its entirety back-to-back, which I almost never do. With a lyrical specificity that surpasses Belle & Sebastian, Gibbard's words and wispy, longing vocals, along with the quietly-yet-superbly dramatic melodies crafted by the rest of Death Cab, particularly the anxious, earnest drumming of Michael Schorr, explore over ten tracks the near misses and often tenuous triumphs of human connections. With The Photo Album, Death Cab for Cutie show themselves as nascent master storytellers, with Gibbard's words punctuated and carried by the perfectly fitting music of the band. Showcased in my personal favorites "We Laugh Indoors" and "Styrofoam Plates."

I highly recommend this album for those who listen to music by season, as Death Cab are a pitch-perfect autumn band, and The Photo Album proves that in spades.



2 out of 5 stars worst   August 10, 2007
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

i LOVE dcfc, especially their old stuff. this album is the worst album they have, there are only about 4 good songs. and saying that this album is worse than 'plans' is saying a lot. but the lyrics are good. numbers 4, 6, and 10 are the best songs.


4 out of 5 stars I don't even like EMO...   January 20, 2007
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I didn't discover Death Cab until Transatlantacisim (thanks to the OC) but this band has quickly become one of my favorites. I think they are rediculously talented, and I love the way they structure their music and lyrics. This album doesn't disapoint if you appreciate what this band is doing. It's a little less clean than Transatlantacisim and Plans, but it's still highly enjoyable. I only rate this 4 stars because I compare it to their more recent releases, and I feel that this band is getting better as time goes along.

Copyright 2006 - CD Shopper