Death Cab for Cutie Codes and Keys (Vinyl 2LP) * * *

2011's Codes and Keys served as the seventh studio album from the Washington-based quartet Death Cab For Cutie and follow-up to 2008's Narrow Stairs. The album was mixed by producer Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Smashing Pumpkins) and features the single "You Are A Tourist." In contrast to the band's previous albums, on which love never seemed to work out, leader Ben Gibbard channels his own personal experiences over the previous few years, going from a disconcerted romantic to a happily married man. Availabl here on gatefold vinyl 2LP, the sonics convey the sound of a group that came into its own and realized how the studio can serve as its own instrument.

"In contrast to the live-in-the-studio immediacy of Death Cab's previous album, "Narrow Stairs," the new album is about turning the studio into an instrument – a hive of sound that suggests background noise from a distant freeway or a disturbance just over the horizon. Producer-guitarist Chris Walla is the primary architect, and he showcases the versatility of the band's rhythm section."
--Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune, May 27, 2011