Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Jun 17 2008 By Paul Cole

(Warner Bros)

THE Stateside indie heroes ditch polished perfection for an organic rock recording that sounds as if it was made in a bedsit, complete with feedback squalls and buzzing basslines.

It's dark material, too, with Ben Gibbard's pure vocal belying the songs' stark subject matter. I Will Possess Your Heart boasts a five-minute instrumental intro before it's revealed as a love letter from a stalker, and No Sunlight sees the death of an optimist, but set to a perky New Wave backbeat.