Something About Airplanes

Death Cab for Cutie

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 17, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Barsuk
• ASIN: B00000FY5E
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,929 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Twee Pop

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

It's no exaggeration to say 'Something About Airplanes' is the future of music. Melodic pop that falls somewhere between American Analog Set & Imperial Teen. Elsinor/Barsuk.

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

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.

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

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My only problem--its way too short!!, November 15, 2004

By	"laurielooo" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

I love Death Cab, and Ben Gibbard is probably one of my favourite singers as of right now (who knows when that will change) However, this is a great album with some great songs, and an overall great cd for Death Cab. My opinion is most likely slanted since I bought Transatlanticism first, and with so much more to offer, this one seems a little weak, but its still definitley one of my favourites. It's a bit short, but well worth it.