In Case of the Mondays: Death Cab's New Album Opener Sneak Peek

Genre: Indie Rock

Origin: Bellingham, Washington

There has been a trend in the music industry over the past decade to shift the concentration from the album to the single. Obviously, online music stores such as iTunes and Rhapsody, have been the impetus for this change. Personally, I am not a fan of this because I believe an album should be swallowed whole, digested, and then quietly contemplated to find its value. Does that mean I am against singles? No, not at all. Many of the best songs every written were singles and need no album accompaniment to be enjoyed. However, such songs are few and far between. Nevertheless, despite my nostalgic and somewhat alarmist feelings that the days of true music appreciation in the mainstream are coming to a sad close, the pulse of culture beats on and we now see even indie bands getting onboard with the single-song mentality.

Death Cab for Cutie's upcoming May 31st release, Codes and Keys, is now available for pre-order on iTunes with the option of purchasing an iTunes Pass for an additional $2. Making this little extra purchase gives you access to a few songs released one by one every couple of weeks from now until the album release date; it also downloads the music video for the first single off the album, "You Are a Tourist," when it becomes available on iTunes, so the extra money is somewhat deserving. Now, I am a self-described DCfC fanatic (hence the obligatory fanboy acronymous spelling) and a bit of a sucker, so I bought the iTunes Pass. Sue me.

All that being said, let's get into it. The first song to download from the iTunes Pass (besides the previously mentioned and released single) was the album opener, "Home Is a Fire." The moment the song begins, it is clear that Death Cab is up to something very different for them. I honestly didn't know how to feel when I first heard it. It took listening through to the end of the song to come anywhere near close to understanding what they're trying to do with this new sound. I still don't know entirely how I feel about this new album or where they're going as a band, but whatever happens, I know it will be something very interesting, hate it or love it. So today we leave you with a song to ponder; a song to mull over as you go about your day. Sometimes, in case of the Mondays, daydreaming about the uncertain is exactly what you need to make it through.

Death Cab for Cutie - "Home Is a Fire" off Codes and Keys

-JB