Death Cab For Cutie Transatlanticism (2003/SACD/SA-CD/Super Audio Compact Disc/Barsuk
Records)
Sound:
B+ Music: B
Fifteen
years ago or so, you would likely have heard of the great Rock band Death Cab
For Cutie simply because the major record labels hired people who knew and
loved music, who would then collaborate with the label to deliver the music and
performers to the public. Hard to
believe so much changed so quickly, but they have still managed to become a
success and it is nice to see real talent pull through. Their fifth album (after You Can Play These Songs With Chords, Something About Airplanes, We Have The Facts Wrong & Were Voting
Yes, The Photo Album) Transatlanticism (2003) is another
impressive entry, so much so that Barsuk Records has rightly decided to issue
it in the Super Audio CD format.
The songs
include:
1)
The New Year
2)
Lightness
3)
Title & Registration
4)
Expo 86
5)
The Sound Of Settling
6)
Tiny Vessels
7)
Transatlanticism
8)
Passenger Seat
9)
Death Of An Interior Decorator
10) We Looked Like Giants
11) A Lack Of Color
The music
is very good, somewhat paired down, yet has its share of surprises. The lyrics have an ironic sense of humor and
an honesty one would associate with Split Enz, Toad The Wet Sprocket and other
bands who evoke the best of the singer/songwriters. Benjamin Gibbard wrote all the lyrics or
co-wrote (or wrote solo) all the songs, sometimes along with his talented
bandmates Nicholas Harmer, Jason McGerr and Christopher Walla. That they have been successful and enduring
without selling out is great and for many diehard fans, without becoming
popular is a plus.
I had
heard their music before, including from the great documentary about them
called Drive Well, Sleep Carefully,
reviewed elsewhere on this site. And to
think they have not peaked in the least since this release. I hope we see the band get some new
recognition so an at least somewhat larger audience can discover them because
they prove that original music is alive and well. You just sometimes have to go looking harder
for it.
So how
does a recent such Rock album recorded on analog tape benefit from being issued
on Super Audio CD? Very well. The DSD (Direct Stream Digital) 2.0 Stereo is
better than the PCM 16/44.1 Stereo CD tracks and though you can hear some tape
limitations here and there, the sonics are resolved much more clearly on the
high fidelity/high definition DSD audio tracks.
No, there is no 5.1 or 5.0 mix here, but this is one of the most
distinguished 2.0 mixes we have heard on a modern release since Aimee Mann
issued two of her solo albums (reviewed elsewhere on this site) with Mobile
Fidelity.
The band
did not have a huge budget to make this album, yet the money is well spent and
some serious talent (Walla and Ed Brooks) was involved in the producing, mixing
and engineering of the album itself which really pays off especially well in
this format. Those looking for SA-CDs
they may have missed will want to consider this a must-own. As compared to some high profile SA-CDs that
did not sound good, it fares very well.
There is
also a nice booklet in the SA-CD case including lyrics and tech information
backed by nice illustrations. For more
on the band, see and read about the documentary Drive Well, Sleep Carefully at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2752/Drive+Well,+Sleep+Carefully+(Death
- Nicholas Sheffo
