Fans of '00s Death Cab for Cutie take note: Their new album is about grief — and it's for you

NEW YORK (AP) — They usually hold court in theaters, but for the last few years, the beloved indie act Death Cab for Cutie has moonlit as an arena rock band. That's because they took their career-defining albums 2003's “Transatlanticism,” and later, 2005's “Plans,” on an anniversary run — recognizing that in the decades since their release, the records have only grown larger, resonating with new audiences.

“There was such a sense of there being a power greater than us, not necessarily in a spiritual sense, but in the communing with the audience each night,” said guitarist and keyboardist Dave Depper. “It was so concentrated and on such an epic scale … It felt important to be able to tap into that energy and somehow transfer it into the feeling of this next record.”

On Friday, the band will release “I Built You a Tower,” their 11th studio album and second with producer John Congleton. But this is not simply another full-length offering from artists in their veterancy. It is one at an unusual crossroads: A band looking to continue harnessing the enthusiasm of their nostalgic listenership, and one simultaneously experiencing grief.

“I spent a lot of 2023 going through this very painful experience of a separation and eventual divorce,” said frontman and lyricist Ben Gibbard. That informed the record — and happened right as they were embarking on the “Transatlanticism” tour, a run where Gibbard did double-duty, performing two sets. It was also a celebration of his side project the Postal Service, marking the 20th anniversary of that group's sole album, “Give Up.”

Navigating all those realities was a challenge. “I was doing a lot of context switching and in order to do that context switching, certainly as it pertained to my personal life, I had to put all that stuff in a building, as it were, and just lock the door,” he said. “I started to write a lot about how we contextualize, compartmentalize, specifically our grief.”

And a record was born.

The construction behind ‘I Built You a Tower’

Gibbard credits the anniversary tours with reinvigorating his writing.

“I have come to the conclusion over the years that the fans are always right. The records that they think are the best ones are the best records,” he said. “I didn’t want to write 'Transatlanticism 2,' but I wanted it to really build on the spirit of that tour.”

He asked himself: What is it about those songs that continue to connect? “My best work are the pieces that are very emotionally honest, earnest and open,” he said. “I think a lot of my songs that are the best ones are the ones that are very detail oriented. … They kind of sing like real tiny movies.”

There are modern examples of that across “I Built You a Tower,” like in the single “Punching the Flowers,” which takes the image of a toddler stomping on plants and uses it as a metaphor for fatalist frustrations.

And sonically, there are echoes of Death Cab's most beloved albums — found in the staccato rhythms of drummer Jason McGerr on a track like “How Heavenly a State,” for example — or the vocal performance of “Stone Over Water” or “Pep Talk,” while avoiding self-imitation.

A new direction

Gibbard and Depper credit Congleton for pushing them to avoid perfectionist tendencies, reminding them that flaws give life to songs.