Spring '08 LPs From Madonna, Coldplay, The Roots, Mudcrutch, Elvis Costello : Rolling Stone

Death Cab for Cutie

Narrow Stairs 5/13

Death Cab didn't set out to make their sixth album dark or heavy. But when the group settled into a Seattle studio to record Ben Gibbard's latest batch of songs (some were written in a Big Sur cabin where Jack Kerouac once stayed), the sessions became "weird and a little dangerous — it was like, hit 'record' and see what happens," says guitarist-producer Chris Walla. "It was less cerebral and more gut." The free-flowing vibe resulted in jangly Sixties-style pop, moody Leonard Cohen-esque musing and "I Will Possess Your Heart" — the disc's sprawling, psychedelic lead single. The eight-minute jam is already freaking out some fans, as Walla discovered recently online. "There were definitely some haters," he says. "But still, it's nice to know we're not afraid to take a risk."