Customer Reviews

The Forbidden Love EP

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Forbidden Love EP could have been a few throwaways to keep fans busy until the follow-up to We Have The Facts..., but it's not. It includes "Photobooth," one of Death Cab's best songs. "Photobooth" has become a fan favorite, and rightly so; it's a beautiful indie-pop tune with some gorgeous synths and Ben Gibbard's heartfelt lyrics. "Technicolor Girls" is a nice, but inessential, tune, but "Song For Kelly Huckaby," like "Photobooth," is one of Death Cab's strongest songs. "Song For Kelly Huckaby" indicates the direction Death Cab would take for The Photo Album, as it is one of Death Cab's louder tunes.
The acoustic version of "405" is very pretty, but the alternate take of "Company Calls Epilogue" takes one of the strongest tunes on We Have The Facts and turns it into what sounds like a lo-fi demo. In other words, it's nothing special. Overall, though, "Photobooth" and "Song For Kelly Huckaby" makes the Forbidden Love EP an essential purchase for any Death Cab fan.

Death Cab for Cutie is one of the best bands ever, and this EP has 5 of their best songs. If you want to get into death cab this would be a good first purchase from them.

"Photobooth" is about as good as a song can get. I've heard it a dozens of times and its never gotten old, everything about it is amazing: the lyrics, the singing, the little clicking noise throughout the whole thing, and the instrumental part in the middle with the bells is incredible. It's such a simple song, but it's so listenable, i've never seen anyone who hasn't liked this song.

"Technicolor Girls" is also a fantastic song, it gives you that nice, warm feeling, and i find it hard not to start humming along with it. It's also very simple and stripped down. For alot of the song its just the electrical guitar and the vocals, which sound so good together.

"Song for Kelly Huckaby" is sad sounding song all about "photographs of the past". It's very emotional and hits harder than any other song on the EP. You see a more complex side of the band in this song that i really like. It's a good song to listen to after a break up.

"405 (Acoustic)" after photobooth is my favorite song on the EP. It's one of the prettiest songs they've ever written, the acoustic guitar is fantastic, it's reminiscent of classic acoustic songs such as "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. Ben has a really high voice, and this is about as high as his voice ever gets on this song.

"Company Calls Epilogue" was proclaimed by Ben as his favorite death cab song. I love the acoustic guitar in this song, especially when it cuts to it about 2 minutes into the song. Like every Death Cab song, this one has a great melody and great lyrics.

Basically this EP is a must have for music fans, and especially death cab fans. If you like Indie Rock at all you'll love this EP. I can not say how good this EP is so just get it and find out.

Before I review this EP, you might want to know about my credentials. I am not now, or ever have been: a fan of indie. I have known about this band for quite some time now. But, I never really stopped to take a good listen. After a while though, their prescence got the best of me, and I decided to purchase this EP to see what these dudes were all about, and what a pleasant experience it was.

The disc opens up with the catchy technical drumbeat intro of "photobooth". A song littered with mellow keyboards, calming guitar picking and lyrically soothing goodness. I quickly decided that simply because of that one song, this band was a winner. I realize that photobooth is in most people's oppinion the best on here, but it's enough to make this CD worthwhile. As for the other tracks... Well, i'm getting to them.

After photobooth comes the even slower and less upbeat "technicolor girls". For some reason this song didn't do it for me. I suspect that's because I'm used to much more upbeat stuff. (I.E. punk, hardcore) I'd like to think that fans of indie rock would like this very much.
Next in line if the drawny "Song for Kelly Huckaby". This track in my oppinion has some very fine guitarwork and nice vocal effects. It's sort of sad like the last two songs but still gets me smiling.

"405" is an acoustic relapse of another Death cab song I havent even heard. I enjoyed it greatly and was glad to hear a happier and upbeat song on here. Lastly, Company calls finishes up this EP. The drumbeat on here is really cool and lyrics really standout from the rest. All in all a great finisher.

I found that this EP was a bit more mellow and poppy than their other stuff I've heard, which sounds more indie-rockish. I'm glad I bought this, I even went on to purchase "we have the facts" a couple weeks after. Although this isn't a genre a music I particularly spend a lot of time in, I think anyone can enjoy these songs, no matter what their tastes. there wasn't a single song here that I didn't enjoy in some way. I would also recommend this highly to anyone wanting to get into this band, but don't know where to start.

7/10 score for catchy vibes, good lyrics, and some innovation here and there. Very flattering EP...

I got into Death Cab for Cutie about a year ago and I have to admit, it took me a LONG time to truly recognize the beauty of this EP. Hailing from Seattle, DCFC is now fairly well known in the indie scene and is getting recognized airplay on college radio. This group has opened up my eyes to low-fi emo and indie rock, and I am all the more thankfull now that I tried hard, and in the end loved this cd. Containing 3 previously unreleased tracks and two alternate versions of tracks from the mysteriously wonderful We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, this EP basically showcases DCFC's talent as well as some of the best songs they've put out. Photobooth, the opening track, starts out with a looped drum track then goes on to tell the melancholy story of lost love and moving on afterwards. While the next track, Technicolor Girls may be what I think the "weakest" song on the cd in relative terms, it still is a good song, and I like the stand-up bass in the backround. Song for Kelly Huckaby is a little slow to get into but then picks up, and the refrain makes it all worthwhile. The acoustic version of 405 is just as good as the original, and the lyrics are just pure poetry. The last track, an alternate version of Company Calls Epilogue, has to be one of my favorite songs of all time. Personally, I think this song is just pure genius, and the sometimes cryptic lyrics and calming singing just meld with the music into a true masterpiece. This has to be the one of the most emtional songs I have heard in a long time and one of the most original. I have never heard the topic of realizing you lost the one you loved so eloquently and thoughtfully put as in this song. While I know it sounds I have nothing bad to say about DCFC at all (which is kinda true), this EP makes up for some of the slight shortcomings on We Have the Facts....With that said, I still have to admit, this stuff is fairly low-fi, and is best listened to on rainy days and long drives down an empty stretch of road. I wouldn't say it's a refined taste, but for someone like me who basically before Death Cab for Cutie found this stuff very hard to listen to, it does take a while to get used to. I'd say it look me at least 15 listenings over 2 months. This EP may not change your life, but in the end, you might say that it definetely compliments it. A must buy for anyone who is curious about broadening their music horizons or already loves indie rock.

This is album is great, so great that everyone should own a copy. The album starts with "Photobooth". Everyone who loves Death Cab For Cutie loves them either because this song or love this song just cause. Its just that good of a song. It starts with an ecclectic drum beat that leads to a nice riff. The lyrics are both meaningful, intresting, and the type of lyrics that you hear and go "aw, man why didn't I write that?" Next, "Techinicolor Girls" is a great song. It starts off nice and slow and continues that way. I sometimes have a problem seeing where "Photo" end and "Girls" begin but it is rather clear. "Girls" continues to have intresting lyrics the whole way through, though its not one of those songs that you hear and can go "that's my life." Its still a very good laid back song. "Photo" and "Girls" are my two favorite songs not only on the CD but by Death Cab... The other three songs "Song for...", "405" and "Company Calls" are all very good. This CD is worth the buy.

For those not yet enamored of Death Cab for Cutie's emo-core charms, The Forbidden Love E.P. is the place to start. The three new songs (of five total) are their best and most accessible yet, and the alternate versions of the two best cuts from We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes are must owns for collectors.

This in one my favorites of all time. "Photobooth" and "Song for Kelly Huckaby" are possibably the best that DCFC has ever written. "Technicolor Girls" is one of those songs that just has a nostalgic feel to it. Forbidden Love also contains alternate versions of two of the best off of We Have the Facts, and We're Voting Yes, and they are even better than they were originally. "405" is just a beautiful song but acoustic its even more great and "Company Calls Epilogue" is one of my personal favorites from this band. Perfect for anyone who is a fan or wants to see what all the fuss is about. Also perfect for those people who think this band is garbage because they havent really given them a chance. Buy it and fall in love with a compellingly honest band. Benjamin Gibbard is Hemingway reincarnte.

In the three new songs on Forbidden Love, DCFC takes a step backward, not artistically or technically but chronologically, to the days of high school letter jackets ("always on loan"), when time and change inevitably crushed adolescent romance. Trading in bite for bittersweet, Ben Gibbard's lyrics survey the detritus of middle-class teen heartbreak from the perspective of the older but no wiser and much unhappier adult. "Photobooth" seeks to recapture the bliss of a photobooth kiss, but ultimately "it's time to pack a change of clothes and move on." "Technicolor Girls" slows down the pace of loss almost to a standstill, only not quite. The ep's masterpiece, "Song for Kelly Huckaby," is an achingly nostalgic, majestic 3/4 powerchord-guitar-and-mellotron paean to a long-ago car trip to California, recalled in "photographs of the best time that you had." The acoustic version of "405" has some nice timbres, but probably won't replace the original on your mp3 stack. The "Company Calls Epilogue" alternate take, on the other hand, stands on its own. What was a pensive recollection of a tragic event (wedding reception for former girlfriend) becomes a brooding, stark landscape of despair, with textures rivalling Godspeed You Black Emperor in a bad mood.

But the comparison is gratuitous. Like previous DCFC efforts, "Forbidden Love" sounds like this or that group if you listen to it groggily while vacuuming last night's vomit off the carpet. If you concentrate on the music, though, you don't hear songs that sound like anything else. In fact, you don't hear songs at all, but hundreds of exquisite little drones, threaded tenuously by melodies always on the verge of decomposing, and lyrics that break in mid-sentence before going on to the next line. Pick any second of "Forbidden Love" and listen to it for an hour or two. Then pack a change of clothes and move on.

At this point, it's nearly impossible to separate Death Cab For Cutie the band from Death Cab For Cutie the almost unbearable hype-generating machine. Not that it's their fault, since it always seemed that the indie community took it squarely upon themselves to declare Death Cab For Cutie the next "it" band, but there was a point last year where it seemed impossible to escape the spectre of We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, an album which in all honesty didn't deserve the mountains of press it received. We Have The Facts... was a decent album, but Christopher Walla's murky production and the absence of drummer Nathan Good resulted in what was ultimately a collection of watered down songs which never managed to deliver.

So now we have Death Cab For Cutie's new EP, Forbidden Love. It's a pretty typical offering for the format: three new songs and two reworked ones from the full length. But whereas normally these sorts of releases could be generally ignored by the non-fanatics, there's a real eyebrow-raiser here in "Song For Kelly Huckaby," a song which gets everything right that was botched on the full length. Walla's production is crisp and direct, helping his guitars and Good's drums bring the force and immediacy that was so desperately needed. And for all of the yearning and unrequited love which dominates Walla's songwriting, "Song For Kelly Huckaby" even manages to best everything he's done before. Reminiscence never sounded so good, as Walla avoids much of the acrimony which never rang true on We Have The Facts... Opening with the words "Photographs from the past" could have set "Kelly Huckaby" up as cliche, but every line here perfectly, almost poetically, captures the tangled feelings of regret and retrospection.

The rest of the album is pretty forgettable in comparison. "Photobooth" is good; "Technicolor Girls" isn't. Then there's the acoustic version of "405" and a re-engineered "Company Calls Epilogue," neither of which offers anything really new over the original versions. And there it is. As its own cycle of songs, The Forbidden Love EP isn't anything special, but as a vehicle for the superb "Song For Kelly Huckaby," it's a success.

Unlike most EPs, none of the tracks here are clunkers. They are lyrical and, at times, touching. As a whole, Forbidden Love is better than some of Death Cab's albums (particularly Plans). I found this EP well worth the price.