Something About Airplanes

Death Cab for Cutie originally formed in Bellingham, WA, in 1997 with their cassette-only Elsinor Records release, you can play these songs with chords. The group, which appropriated its name from a song title by '60s UK rock ensemble The Bonzo Dog Band, has consistently released outstanding albums over the years, gaining a wider audience and seeping into the consciousness of mainstream America with the growing success of their albums, the most recent of which were released by Atlantic Records.

Something About Airplanes was the first official CD/LP release from Death Cab for Cutie (1998). This limited edition repressing will be the last from Sonic Boom Recordings, who licensed the vinyl rights from Barsuk back in 1998.

The first instrument you notice upon listening to Something About Airplanes is the cello on "Bend to Squares." It fades out, soon enough replaced by the familiar electric guitar, but it sets this album's offbeat mood. Experimentation and pop hooks strike a perfect balance on this debut from the Bellingham, Washington-based Death Cab for Cutie. The quartet follow in the fine tradition of area emo-pop bands like Modest Mouse, 764-HERO, and Built to Spill, but it's hard not to notice bits of Quasi and the Beatles popping up. Of course, the Death Cab formula is a bit different--"President of What?" is driven by Farfisa, not Fender; "Champagne from a Paper Cup" is a slow-burner--there's not much pop glee found in a song that begins "I think I'm Drunk Enough to Drive You Home Now"; and--every once in a while--the oddball vocal sample kicks in (presumably from a long-forgotten movie, a la vintage Jawbreaker). It all makes for a brilliant debut and a fine addition to the canon of Northwest emo-pop late-'90s style. --Jason Verlinde