Death Cab began as a solo project of Ben Gibbard, now the band's vocalist and guitarist. Gibbard took the band name from the satirical song Death Cab for Cutie, performed by The Bonzo Dog Band in The Beatles' 1967 experimental film Magical Mystery Tour. As Death Cab for Cutie, Gibbard released a cassette titled You Can Play These Songs with Chords; the release was surprisingly successful, and Gibbard decided to expand the band into a complete project. He recruited Chris Walla (who had also worked on the cassette) as an electric guitarist, Nick Harmer as bass guitarist, and Nathan Good to play drums.
The four released the LP Something About Airplanes on August 18th 1998. The album was favorably reviewed in the independent music scene, and in 2000 the band released We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes. Nathan Good left the band at some point during this album's production. His playing on “The Employment Pages” and “Company Calls Epilogue” were kept, but Gibbard played drums on all other songs.
Michael Schorr would first appear on The Forbidden Love E.P., released on October 24, 2000. In 2001, another LP was released, entitled The Photo Album. Limited editions of this album contained three bonus tracks, which were later released separately as The Stability EP.
In 2003, there was another change of drummer, with Jason McGerr of Eureka Farm replacing Schorr. McGerr would play drums on the next release, Transatlanticism.
Transatlanticism was released in October of 2003. It received critical praise and also became the band's top-selling album, with 225,000 copies sold during its first year out.
In spring of 2004, the band recorded a live E.P. titled The John Byrd E.P., named for their sound engineer. The E.P. was released on Barsuk Records in March 2004.
In November of 2004, Death Cab for Cutie signed a “long-term worldwide deal” with Atlantic Records, leaving their long-time label Barsuk Records. Gibbard stated on the official website www.deathcabforcutie.com that nothing would change except that “Next to the picture of Barsuk holding a 7", there will be the letter "A" on both the spine and back of our upcoming albums.” This was a marked change from Gibbard's earlier views on major-label relations, which he said “are set up to fuck you and take all your money.”. After signing to Atlantic, the band was still nervous about corporate economics, and encouraged fans to download its songs from the Internet.
The first and second singles off the band's Atlantic Record release Plans were “Soul Meets Body” and “Crooked Teeth”, respectively. The full album was released in August of 2005. Plans was somewhat well-acclaimed by critics and fans, and received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album of 2005. It achieved Gold Status in 2006 after charting on Billboard for 47 consecutive weeks.
The band released a touring DVD titled Drive Well, Sleep Carefully in 2005. Known for their contributions to animal rights, the band is supporting the activist group PETA in giving away copies of the DVD to promote animal rights.
In early 2006, the band announced the upcoming release of Directions, eleven short films inspired by songs from the Plans album, each directed by a different person. The videos were posted one at a time at the band's website and the DVD went on sale April 11, 2006.
On May 12, 2008 their album, Narrow Stairs, was released and was well received by both critics and fans. It was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200. The album contains the singles "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires".
The band's latest released The Open Door EP, which was released on March 31, 2009. Their main styles consist of slow progressive rock with dark lyrics.
The band's seventh album, Codes and Keys, was released on May 31, 2011. The album's first single was "You Are A Tourist".
On October 11, 2013, the band reportedly began working on their eighth studio album. This was then confirmed by the group's official Instagram profile in which an image was uploaded with the caption "DCFC LP8 begins". The new album will be produced by Rich Costey and is expected to be released in early 2015. In an interview with Stereogum, Gibbard said of the new album, "I do think from start to finish it's a much better record than Codes And Keys. If that record turned anybody off, I feel pretty strongly that this one could win them back. There are threads in this one that connect back to our earliest stuff that people love." On October 29, 2013, the band released a remastered tenth-anniversary version of their 2003 album Transatlanticism. The new album included a vinyl LP and MP3 download, with demos for all the songs from the album.
As part of the 2014 Record Store Day, the band released its first live album, a vinyl-only double LP recorded during various 2012 tour dates with Magik*Magik Orchestra. Included within the packaging was a code for a digital download of the recording.
On August 13, 2014, after 17 years as a member of Death Cab for Cutie, guitarist and songwriter Chris Walla decided to part ways with the band, with his last performance occurring on September 13, 2014 at the Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. Walla states that he plans to "...continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible." When asked in an interview about Walla's involvement in the eighth album, McGerr confirmed that Walla "played on everything and has been involved all the way through, even in the mixing. Even though he's played his last show with us, he's still been involved in everything involving this record."
Fake Frowns
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Backfired and made things worse
Once on the bus, it was quite possible
You'd be the jailhouse queen
Jury and judge were screaming to hang
You spat the sweat from brow
He shrugged his shoulders, nothing would work
It had to end right now
I can't drive straight counting your fake frowns
Focusing in, details a must
Trying to make each one count
All on your fingers stopping at ten
Magistrate's keyed in how
The jury and judge were screaming to hang
You spat the sweat from brow
He shrugged his shoulders, nothing would work
It had to end right now
We can't keep your interest now
Increasing pixels and sound
Fake Frowns by Death Cab for Cutie is a song written from the perspective of someone who is trying desperately to make a relationship work, but is realizing that their partner is no longer interested. The song’s title "Fake Frowns" is a reference to the fake smiles and expressions that people use to hide their true emotions. The song starts with the line “Bent at the knee, a last resort” which implies that the singer has tried everything to maintain the relationship but has now reached a point where even their last resort has failed, making the situation worse.
The lyrics then continue with “You’d be the jailhouse queen, jury and judge were screaming to hang” which gives an impression of being trapped in a hopeless situation. The singer can’t even focus on driving because they are too busy trying to analyze their partner’s fake expressions, trying to make sense of them. As the song progresses, the lyrics emphasize the desperation of the singer to keep the relationship going, but they are met with indifference instead. The lines “We can’t keep your interest now, increasing pixels and sound” refers to the lack of attention and affection from the partner, and how they are more interested in technology and other distractions than their relationship.
Overall, Fake Frowns is a poignant depiction of the struggles in a failing relationship, where one person is desperately trying to hold on while the other has already given up.
Line by Line Meaning
Bent at the knee, a last resort
You're at your wit's end, willing to do anything to fix things.
Backfired and made things worse
Your attempts to make things better only ended up exacerbating the situation.
Once on the bus, it was quite possible
There was a chance that things could have turned out differently.
You'd be the jailhouse queen
You would have been punished severely for your actions.
Jury and judge were screaming to hang
There was a sense of extreme disapproval and anger directed at you.
You spat the sweat from brow
You were overcome with anxiety and physical discomfort.
He shrugged his shoulders, nothing would work
It seemed like there was no solution to the situation.
It had to end right now
The situation was so dire that it had to be resolved immediately.
I can't drive straight counting your fake frowns
I'm so distracted by your insincere facial expressions that I can't focus on anything else.
Focusing in, details a must
I'm obsessing over the little things.
Trying to make each one count
I'm assigning significance to every small action or expression you make.
All on your fingers stopping at ten
I'm even keeping track of the number of times you've made a certain expression.
Magistrate's keyed in how
Even someone in a position of power is paying attention to the situation.
We can't keep your interest now
We're no longer able to capture your attention or hold your interest.
Increasing pixels and sound
We're resorting to flashy gimmicks to try to keep you engaged.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William O'Donnell
This is my favs death cab song!
I feel silly cause I like so much hardcore/metal ect but deathcab is pretty much perfection in my eyes, or ears
GlassJSP
Do not be ashamed, i am exactly like you in the musical taste.
coffee
Every genre has its gems!
Jake
I hear you man, love metal, hardcore, hip hop etc. But death cab are pretty perfect, right song for right moods I guess :)
Lydia S
Bent at the knee, a last resort
Backfired and made things worse
Once on the bus, it was quite possible
You'd be the jailhouse queen
Jury and judge were screaming to hang
You spat the sweat from brow
He shrugged his shoulders, nothing would work
It had to end right now
I can't drive straight counting your fake frowns
Focusing in, details a must
Trying to make each one count
All on your fingers stopping at ten
Magistrate's keyed in how
The jury and judge were screaming to hang
You spat the sweat from brow
He shrugged his shoulders, nothing would work
It had to end right now
We can't keep your interest now
Increasing pixels and sound
ya mama
ty🙏
RealityCheck6T9
I always thought it was nothing worth work, guess I was wrong
seadrag
8 years later, a different man entirely but I never forget my roots
loydkaufmanisgod
I have to hear the end of amputations or this just doesn't sound right. Caught an ad in between em while mowing the other day...ruined my whole mow.