Tom Lynch

When you think of the dynamic duos of rock n' roll, who comes to mind? Plant and Page, Daltrey and Townsend, Morrissey and Marr? Those partnerships will always hold their spots on the musical mantel of ingenuity, but in the modern age of indie pop, Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla should be viewed as colossal giants.

If Gibbard is the lonely heart of the beloved body that is Death Cab for Cutie, Walla surely is the mighty brain. Working as guitarist, sometime keyboardist and band's engineer, Walla pulls double duty when focusing on the Death Cab world, and on August's "Plans," he does his best work. The eleven-song diary flows together as if it's a drift of snowfall. Not unlike the band's hugely regarded "Transatlanticism," "Plans" covers Gibbard's confessions of the soul, sometimes melancholic, sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet, while Walla's atmospheric guitar work and sleep-like production feed the listener with even more enchanting grief.

"I think you have an idea, then you abandon it or embrace it whether it's happening or not," says Walla about the recording process of "Plans." "On the last two records we were like, `Let's make "The Joshua Tree",' even though it doesn't really come out like that." Also, with this record Death Cab for Cutie leapt from Barsuk records to Atlantic, a shift to the mainstream that could make or break a band still searching for its mainstream appeal, despite the prominent drooling on "The O.C." "We didn't really feel pressure," Walla says. "The pressure we have, we put on one another. We're pretty good about just keeping it internal, making sure we're making the music for the same reason as always. We've now learned how to communicate a lot better as a band. Making a record is like having a series of problems you have to solve."

Walla doesn't only stick with his Death Cab crew; he's recorded multiple records, mostly from the indie-pop galaxy, including The Decemberists' "Picaresque" and Nada Surf's "The Weight Is a Gift." Instead of searching for the perfect performance, he looks for the perfect moment. "I think everything is in the moment," he says. "There are so many times and so many records where...I could give a shit if it sounds good. Whatever it is, it has to be exciting. It has to make me breathless. It's so worth some blood and sweat and dirt if I get that."

The major differences between "Plans" and the band's previous records--not including Gibbard's lyrical obsession with death and afterlife that dominates most new songs like "Soul Meets Body" and "I Will Follow You into the Dark"--are the relative absence of guitars (though the acoustic guitar seems prominent) and the addition of a variety of keyboards and pianos. "I Will Follow You into the Dark," featuring only Gibbard and an acoustic guitar, seems like it could've been performed and committed to tape in an attic bedroom in the middle of the night. "Different Names for the Same Thing," before plowing into a Postal Service-esque electronic whirlpool, features only voice and piano. "Your Heart is an Empty Room," with sparse acoustic guitar, matches with a U2-like delayed electric lead, similar to The Edge's musings on "The Joshua Tree." It's a simple record, perhaps the band's least complicated in delivery, but the message is sent with stunning clarity.

"A lot of the demos came in leaning on the acoustic guitar heavily," Walla says of Gibbard's original recordings. "There's a lot less guitar on this record, though. In December of last year, I had this little accident and cut a dime-size chunk out of my middle finger of my fretting hand--it still hasn't healed--and during the demo process I didn't play as much guitar. I hadn't really considered that that may be the reason there's no guitars, but I guess it must be the reason."

Having completed the workload of writing andrecording, Walla seems a bit tired of the record already. "It happens to me every time--we get done and I can't listen to it," Walla says. "It's just now that I'm really starting to enjoy `Transatlanticism.' But I think [`Plans'] is good, I'm proud of it. But, man, I don't have any desire to listen to it."

Death Cab for Cutie plays October 12 at the Riviera Theater.

(2005-10-04)

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