For large parts of 2023 and 2024 Ben Gibbard was attempting something very ambitious; whilst anniversary tours can end up being trite and unfulfilling, he chose to perform fronting both Death Cab For Cutie performing Transtlanticism and also The Postal Service likewise doing Give Up, a Herculean effort that brought it’s critical rewards.
He would also on a more limited basis later take Plans out on the road too, but off stage Gibbard was now dealing with the turmoil of his marriage breaking down – and whilst this process can go one way or the other, the psychological impact was profound.
Bruised, he decided the best course of therapy was for the quintet to get to work on I Built You A Tower more or less as they finished their live work. What emerges is a record that he’s at pains to underline isn’t anything as cliched as a ‘divorce’ album, but one that often lyrically is in the mode of eavesdropping. Musically there’s the odd pleasant surprise – The Flavor of Metal’s pretty rumble, Trap Door’s warm synth pop a la Hot Chip – but the likes of Pep Talk, Trap Door and Stone Over Water, as heartfelt as they are, feel like being on the other side of the mirror. The result is an experience that’s easy to empathise with, but much harder to love.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 