Something About Airplanes [Deluxe Edition]

Death Cab for Cutie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 25, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Deluxe Edition
• Label: Barsuk
• ASIN: B001H9JBLW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,406 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Twee Pop

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. bend to squares

2. president of what?

3. champagne from a paper cup

4. your bruise

5. pictures in an exhibition

6. sleep spent

7. the face that launched 1000 sh#ts

8. amputations

9. fake frowns

10. line of best fit

Disc: 2

1. your bruise

2. president of what?

3. fake frowns

4. sweet and tender hooligan (feat. sean nelson)

5. state street residential

6. amputations

7. pictures in an exhibition

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

Barsuk Records and Death Cab for Cutie celebrate the 10th anniversary of the band's classic debut studio album with this deluxe reissue. Still considered by many fans to be DCfC's best album, but criminally unheard by many newer converts other than the handful of songs that remain staples of the band's live set (Amputations, Pictures In An Exhibition, Fake Frowns), Something About Airplanes is not just a document of a particular time in the band's history or of a bygone era of indie-rock it's an enduring work featuring some of the band's finest songs. Includes the band's first Seattle live show on a separate disc.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent debut for a great band, January 10, 2003

By 

Jason Panella (Beaver Falls, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something About Airplanes (Audio CD)

Death Cab for Cutie's 1999 debut was simultaniously familiar and an expedition into brave new territory; in essence, a fuzzy lo-fi gem.

A few of the tracks here are gleaned from singer/guitarist/primary songwriter Ben Gibbard's demo tapes (You Can Play These Songs With Chords, rereleased by Barsuk in 2002), and the great tunesmithing found there is even better this time around. While that might form the core of the tracks, the newer songs are just as good.

"Bend to Squares" starts Something About Airplanes off on a good note, a swirling mix of distorted (as well as acoustic) guitars and cello. The next track, "President of What?", sounds like the Zombies on speed, complete with an extremely memorable organ line.

Yeah, a few of the tracks do blend together, but several listens will cement certain parts of the album into your mind permenantly: the "I'm definitely shaking" section on the power-popish "Pictures in an Exhibition"; the chiming electric guitar channel on the almost twangy "Sleep Spent"; the entire song "Amputations," one of the finest songs Gibbard has written; and the shoegazing swell of album closer "Line of Best Fit," in which the harmonized male/female vocals are near hypnotic over the throbbing guitars.

On the downside...there really isn't one. The lo-fi quality of the recording might be hard to take for someone not accustom to it, but the songs themselves are what really counts.

As far as what the band sounds like, I'd say they are far far far away from the "emo" tag many have wrongly labeled them with. The Built to Spill references aren't dead on either, but I will say Death Cab for Cutie could be compared to a more fuzzed out There's Nothing Wrong With Love-era BTS, minus Doug Martsch's guitar heroics.

Something About Airplanes is a melodic, creative, and lush album that is a great starting point for a wonderful band. I highly recommend it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars... Excellent reissue/deluxe edition, December 12, 2008

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something About Airplanes (Audio CD)

What a year 2008 is turning out to be for Death Cab for Cutie. Their latest album "Narrow Stairs" was generally well received, both critically and commercially, earlier this year, and now, just in time to wrap up the year, comes this re-release/deluxe edition of the band's debut album from 10 years ago, with a bonus live CD from that era.

"Something About Airplanes" (2 CDs; 17 tracks; 78 min.) first brings the original album (10 tracks; 43 min.), which was released in August, 1998. This is a very strong debut album, no question, and indeed it is astonishing to hear how solid the band sounds, keeping in mind that they only formed in the summer of 1997. All the elements that would eventually lift DCFC into the more mainstream are already visibly in place here: pensive, dynamic and atmospheric tracks. From the opening sounds of "Bend to Squares", on to outstanding gems like "Pictures in an Exhibition, to "Sleep Spent" to the epic closer "Line of Best Fit", it's all here. In fact, this album is stronger than its follow-up "We Have the Facts" album, but that's just my opinion...

CD2 (7 tracks; 34 min.) brings the band's entire show from Seattle's Crocodile Cafe in February, 1998, 6 months before the release of the "Airplanes" album, and it is an outstanding addition to the album. From the sound of it, there weren't a lot of people there that particular evening, but it's irrelevant really. The band plays a couple of their earliest tunes (such as "Your Bruise"), and also several tunes that would end up on the album such as "President of What?', "Fake Frown", "Amputations" and "Pictures in an Exhibition". It's fascinating to hear these versions and how they compare to the eventual studio tracks they'd become. The band is in good form throughout, with a lot of banter in between songs, just great.

In all, this is is a very worthwhile "Deluxe Reissue", even if you own the original album. I saw DCFC in concert again several times this year, and they just keep on getting bigger and better. Maybe some fans of the early years are cringing that DCFC is getting so much commercial acclaim these days, but they shouldn't really. Their success is hard earned and much deserved.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really different stuff, May 2, 2004

By 

Abby (Pittsburg, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something About Airplanes (Audio CD)

An interesting mix of inspired mellow rock and moody calm, Something About Airplanes is the highly listenable, infectious debut from Death Cab for Cutie, a band that has now released several other albums and enjoyed a moderate amount of success. From listening to this, it's not hard to see why. Death Cab is bouncier than Coldplay and calmer than Modest Mouse, finding a nice niche in between. "Bend To Squares" and "Your Bruise" have a gothic feel, while "President of What" and "Pictures in an Exhibition" are a little lighter feel to them. I wonder about how the band was spread around amongst so many people, since almost all of these tracks are too different to be played on radio. I can only think that it must have been word of mouth, because after hearing this, I had to tell everyone I knew about them. Hopefully my review will have convinced another listener unfamiliar with the group to buy this album and start listening to the band's other releases as well.