text: death cab for cutie death cab for cutie is an american alternative rock band , formed in bellingham , washington in 1997 . the band comprises ben gibbard ( vocals , guitar , piano ) , nick harmer ( bass ) and jason mcgerr ( drums ) . in 2014 , founding guitarist and producer chris walla announced that he would be departing from the band after recording their eighth studio album , kintsugi . the band was originally a solo project by ben gibbard , when he released the demo album , you can play these songs with chords , to positive reception . this led to a record deal with barsuk records . gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band , releasing their debut album something about airplanes in 1998 , and their second album , we have the facts and we 're voting yes , in 2000 ; both records were positively received in the indie community . their third album , 2001 's the photo album , gave the band their first charting single , and the release of the group 's fourth album transatlanticism , in 2003 , gained the band mainstream critical and commercial success . after signing with atlantic records , death cab for cutie released their fifth album and major - label debut plans in 2005 , which received platinum certification from the recording industry association of america . the band released their sixth album narrow stairs in 2008 , which served as a stylistic departure for the group . their seventh album , 2011 's codes and keys , featured the band 's first number one single , " you are a tourist " . their eighth studio album kintsugi , the last to feature walla , was released on march 31 , 2015 . death cab for cutie 's music has been labeled as indie rock , indie pop , and alternative rock . it is noted for its use of unconventional instrumentation , as well as gibbard 's distinctive voice and unique lyrical style . since their formation , the band has released eight full - length studio albums , four eps , two live eps , one live album , and one demo album . history early years ( 1997 – 2002 ) death cab for cutie began as a solo project of ben gibbard in 1997 , while he was the guitar player for the band pinwheel , and was recorded under the name all - time quarterback . as death cab for cutie , gibbard released a cassette titled you can play these songs with chords the same year . the release was surprisingly successful , and gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band , recruiting chris walla ( who had also worked on the cassette ) as lead guitarist , nick harmer as bass player , and nathan good as drummer . death cab for cutie was officially formed at western washington university in bellingham , washington , and lyrics from early songs include local references that were important to the band 's development . many of the early songs were recorded in the basement of an ellis street home gibbard lived in with several roommates in bellingham . the four released their debut full - length studio album , something about airplanes , on august 18 , 1998 . the album was favorably reviewed in the independent music scene . in 1998 the band also met their long - term manager jordan kurland . kurland had heard good things about them , and after a failed attempt to see them play at south by southwest finally hooked up with them when touring with his then client , the band crumb . the band released their follow - up second album , we have the facts and we 're voting yes , in march 2000 . nathan good left the band at some point during this album 's production , and was briefly replaced by jayson tolzdorf - larson . gibbard played drums on the majority of the album , with good 's playing on “ the employment pages ” and “ company calls epilogue ” being kept on the final release . although tolzdorf - larson did not contribute to the album , he did appear on the song " spring break broke " , from the " death cab for fiver " 7 - inch record , and also joined the band on two tours , including their first full tour of the united states . tolzdorf - larson was later replaced by michael schorr , who would first appear on the forbidden love ep , released on october 24 , 2000 . in 2001 , death cab for cutie released their third album , the photo album . limited editions of this album contained three bonus tracks , which were later released separately as the stability ep . the album produced the band 's first charting single " a movie script ending " , which reached number 123 on the uk singles chart , and was the first of three songs by the band to be featured on the television show the .. the photo album 's two other singles , " i was a kaleidoscope " and " we laugh indoors " , also reached numbers 115 and 122 on the uk singles chart , respectively . transatlanticism ( 2003 ) in 2003 there was yet another change of drummer with jason mcgerr , who had previously played in the band eureka farm with gibbard and harmer , joining the band . mcgerr 's debut would be playing drums on death cab for cutie 's next release , their fourth album transatlanticism , which was released in october 2003 . the album was received to critical acclaim , and launched the band into mainstream commercial success , with the two singles " the sound of settling " and " title and registration " , appearing in the soundtracks of the television shows the o.c. , six feet under , csi : miami and californication , and the films wedding crashers , easy a , and mean creek . signing to atlantic and plans ( 2004 – 2006 ) in early 2004 the band recorded a live ep , entitled the john byrd ep , named for their sound engineer was released on barsuk records in march . death cab for cutie had been contacted by major labels on - and - off for several years , but it was only after the proven success of transatlanticism that they decided to start talking to labels about a potential deal . the fact that they had already achieved considerable success allowed the band to negotiate with a lot of creative freedom . according to their manager jordan kurland , the band had spoken to " pretty much all of them " , and then decided they were most satisfied with their offer from atlantic records . in november 2004 , the band signed a “ long - term worldwide deal ” with atlantic , leaving their long - time label barsuk records . gibbard stated on the band 's official website that nothing would change , except that " next to the picture of barsuk holding a 7 " , there will be the letter " a " on both the spine and back of our upcoming albums . " after signing to atlantic , the band was still nervous about corporate economics , and encouraged fans to download its songs from the internet . the band released their fifth studio album and debut major - label release , plans , on august 30 , 2005 , to critical and commercial success . two singles from the album , “ soul meets body ” and “ crooked teeth ” , reached the top ten of the us billboard alternative songs chart , while the single " i will follow you into the dark " became the band 's best - selling single to date . death cab for cutie performed " crooked teeth " live on saturday night live on january 14 , 2006 . plans received a nomination for the grammy award for best alternative album of 2005 , as well as achieving gold certification in 2006 after being featured on the billboard album chart for 47 consecutive weeks , and later was certified platinum by the recording industry association of america in early may 2008 . the band released a touring dvd , drive well , sleep carefully , in 2005 . copies of the dvd were given away to promote animal rights , and the band are supporters of the activist group peta . in early 2006 , the band announced the upcoming release of directions : the plans video album , which features eleven short films inspired by songs from the plans album , each directed by a different person . the videos were posted one at a time at the band 's website , and the dvd went on sale april 11 , 2006 . the itunes store began selling the videos ( formatted for ipod ) early on march 28 , 2006 . lance bangs , p.r. brown , ace norton , jeffrey brown , , autumn de wilde , rob schrab , laurent briet and , as well as aaron stewart - ahn , are among directors that have contributed to the project . an episode of mtv2 's subterranean played these videos for the whole hour , plus discussion with members of the band . death cab for cutie made their first appearance at neil young 's annual bridge school benefit , and completed their lengthy 2006 tour of the united states on december 10 , 2006 , finishing with a show at the keyarena in seattle , washington . narrow stairs and the open door ep ( 2007 – 2009 ) walla claimed on october 18 , 2007 , that a new album was " in full swing " and that they had six songs completed . he went on to call the new music " weird , " " spectacular , " and " creepy , " saying that it contained " lots of blood . " he noted that the album had a " can jam " that lasted 10 minutes , which walla said that he would have never imagined doing in 1998 . in a billboard piece in january 2008 , the band promised the album to be a " curve ball " and said that although it would have slower songs , there would be some surprises . walla said , " i 'm really excited about it . it 's really got some teeth . the landscape of the thing is way , way more lunar than the urban meadow sort of thing that has been happening for the last couple of records . " walla added that the album was " louder and more dissonant and ... abrasive . " they claimed that they were influenced by " synth - punk band brainiac . " their sixth full - length album , narrow stairs , was released on may 12 , 2008 . the first single , " i will possess your heart " , was released on march 18 , 2008 . the album version of the song is over eight minutes in length , leading radio and promotional edits to remove the extended intro to shorten the song to four minutes . the second single , " cath ... " , was released on july 21 , 2008 , and the third single " grapevine fires " , was released on march 3 , 2009 . the two singles " i will possess your heart " and " cath ... " both reached the top ten of the alternative songs chart , while " grapevine fires " reached number 21 . in an album review , mtv writer james montgomery said " narrow stairs is a great album , one that could make them very famous , but could very well also kill their careers , " and although " death cab for cutie had gone insane , " he believed the lp could be " an early contender for the best album of 2008 . " indeed , narrow stairs was nominated for " best alternative music album " and " i will possess your heart " received a nomination for " best rock song " at the 51st grammy awards . the band lost in both categories , but prompted debate after appearing at the ceremony sporting blue ribbons to protest against what they view as the excessive use of auto - tune in the music industry . narrow stairs was their first album to reach no.1 on the billboard 200 chart on may 31 , 2008 . though the album achieved strong success , gibbard went on to call it the band 's most " depressing record " . on march 31 , 2009 , the band released the open door ep , containing tracks left off narrow stairs as well as a demo for " talking bird " . the open door ep was nominated for best alternative music album at the 52nd grammy awards . in 2009 the band wrote the song , " meet me on the equinox " for the the twilight saga : new moon soundtrack . " meet me on the equinox " was not the first song that death cab for cutie contributed to a soundtrack , as they contributed " soul meets body " to the soundtrack for catch and release in 2006 . codes and keys ( 2010 – 2012 ) the band 's seventh album , codes and keys , was released on may 31 , 2011 . ben gibbard and nick harmer have both been quoted as saying that the album was " a much less guitar - centric album than we ’ ve ever made before " . in march 2011 , ben gibbard performed a new death cab for cutie song at a solo concert in san francisco , which would later be revealed as the title track from codes and keys . the tracklist for the album was released on death cab for cutie 's website on march 15 , 2011 . the first single from the album , " you are a tourist " , was released on march 29 , 2011 . the song is notable for its music video being first ever live , scripted , one - take music video shoot ever : the group streamed a live performance of the music video as it was being recorded on april 5 , 2011 . the video was accomplished in a single take , using multiple cameras , and no edits or re - takes . the innovative and artistic production employed dancers , actors , and projected images . " you are a tourist " is also notable as death cab for cutie 's first ( and to date , only ) single to reach number one , topping the billboard us alternative songs , us adult alternative songs , and bubbling under hot 100 singles charts , as well as reaching number three on the us rock songs chart . the band released the video for the song " home is a fire " on may 9 , 2011 , featuring street artist shepard fairey plastering lyrics from the song around los angeles . " stay young , go dancing " was released as the second single on september 26 , 2011 , reaching number 31 on the alternative songs chart . " underneath the sycamore " was released as the third single on january 10 , 2012 , but did not chart . codes and keys was nominated for best alternative music album at the 54th grammy awards in 2012 . the band was due to play at the ottawa bluesfest on july 17 , 2011 , but the outdoor stage collapsed earlier in the evening after sudden severe weather hit the area . on their website , the band posted : " our hearts go out to those that were injured and we are so thankful that no one was killed . " in 2012 the band toured across the globe , starting in australia , new zealand , southeast asia . in april and may , the band toured in the united states with members of the magik * magik orchestra , who collaborated on tracks on codes and keys . after headlining the inaugural bunbury music festival in cincinnati , the band played summer festivals in europe . departure of walla and kintsugi ( 2013 – present ) on october 11 , 2013 , the band reportedly began working on their eighth studio album , kintsugi , produced by rich costey . this was then confirmed by the group 's official instagram profile in which an image was uploaded with the caption " begins " . in an interview with stereogum , gibbard said of the new album , " i do think from start to finish it 's a much better record than codes and keys . if that record turned anybody off , i feel pretty strongly that this one could win them back . there are threads in this one that connect back to our earliest stuff that people love . " on october 29 , 2013 , the band released a remastered tenth - anniversary version of their 2003 album transatlanticism . the new album included a vinyl lp and mp3 download , with demos for all the songs from the album . as part of the 2014 record store day , the band released its first live album , a vinyl - only double lp recorded during various 2012 tour dates with magik * magik orchestra . included within the packaging was a code for a digital download of the recording . on august 13 , 2014 , after 17 years as a member of death cab for cutie , guitarist and songwriter chris walla decided to part ways with the band , with his last performance occurring on september 13 , 2014 at the music festival in victoria , british columbia . walla states that he plans to " ... continue making music , producing records , and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible . " when asked in an interview about walla 's involvement in the eighth album , mcgerr confirmed that walla " played on everything and has been involved all the way through , even in the mixing . even though he 's played his last show with us , he 's still been involved in everything involving this record . " an october 2014 rolling stone interview with gibbard revealed new songs entitled " no room in frame " , " black sun " , " beverly drive " , and " good help " would feature alongside seven further tracks on the new record . on january 12 , 2015 , the band officially announced the kintsugi album , which was released on march 31 , 2015 . on january 16 , 2015 , the band announced their first 2015 show at the crocodile cafe in seattle set for later that week , with new touring members dave ( guitar / keyboards ) and zac rae ( keyboards / guitar ) replacing walla in the live band . at the show the band debuted several new songs from kintsugi including first single " black sun " , which was later released on january 26 . kintsugi was nominated for the grammy award for best rock album . musical style death cab for cutie 's music has been labeled indie rock , indie pop , emo , and alternative rock . death cab for cutie 's early work on you can play these songs with chords was described by rolling stone as " emotion through its lack of emotion " . pitchfork media also remarked that the work on the cassette was " ultra - lo - fi " . on something about airplanes the band 's style remained similar , with some new instrumental work introduced ; " flute , synth , or cello " were noted by allmusic 's nitsuh abebe . on we have the facts and we 're voting yes the band again expanded their use of unorthodox instruments , including organ and glockenspiel . pitchfork media called them a " gentle niche " in the current rock climate , compared with bands such as modest mouse and built to spill . rolling stone reviewed transatlanticism and commented that it contained " melodic , melancholy songs about feeling both smart and confused , hopelessly romantic but wary of love . " gibbard 's voice was described as " plaintive boy - next - door " entertainment weekly commented on the music on plans , saying " the lush arrangements are long on hothouse organs and pianos , but short on the squirmy guitars and beats that , on gibbard 's best work , offset his sweet voice and borderline - maudlin poetics with a sense of emotional danger . " the band 's music on plans was described by the dallas morning news as " a literate , whispery style , the kind of stuff that normally sounds better in headphones than in large venues " . in an interview with shave magazine , ben gibbard commented on his song writing saying that he " never sit [ s ] down to write an album number one . i just kind of sit down and write songs and the theme kind of makes itself apparent . but i would never say i was writing about searching for something as much as just trying to document with every song where i am in that moment when i ’ m writing that song . if a theme kind of makes itself apparent in a record , it has more to do with the fact that just what ’ s been on my mind recently . so i guess clearly i have been and was and am , but it was never a conscious decision . " band name gibbard took the band name from the song " death cab for cutie " written by neil innes and vivian stanshall and performed by their group the bonzo dog doo - dah band . the song was performed by the in the beatles film magical mystery tour . the song 's name was in turn taken from an invented pulp fiction crime magazine , devised by the english academic richard hoggart in his 1957 study of working class culture , the uses of literacy . in a 2011 interview , gibbard stated , " the name was never supposed to be something that someone was going to reference 15 years on . so yeah , i would absolutely go back and give it a more obvious name . " members timeline discography studio albums something about airplanes ( 1998 ) we have the facts and we 're voting yes ( 2000 ) the photo album ( 2001 ) transatlanticism ( 2003 ) plans ( 2005 ) narrow stairs ( 2008 ) codes and keys ( 2011 ) kintsugi ( 2015 ) awards and nominations grammy award mtv video music award