| Thank You for Today | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 17, 2018 | |||
| Studio | Santa Monica, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:30 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Rich Costey | |||
| Death Cab for Cutie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Thank You for Today | ||||
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Thank You for Today is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. The album was released on August 17, 2018, on Atlantic Records.
The album was produced by Rich Costey, who returns after collaborating with the band on their eighth album, Kintsugi . It is the first Death Cab for Cutie release not to feature Chris Walla since the band's first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords . The album also marks the first time guitarist/keyboardists Dave Depper and Zac Rae have appeared on a Death Cab for Cutie album, after making their debut recording with the band on the 2016 single "Million Dollar Loan".[ citation needed ]
The album was announced on June 13, 2018, along with the release of its first single, "Gold Rush". [1] The band also announced a tour to support the album's release, beginning in fall 2018. [2] Two further singles were released from the album prior to its release: "I Dreamt We Spoke Again" and "Autumn Love". On August 13, the album was streamed in full on NPR Music's website. [3] "Gold Rush" was also included in the EA Sports video game FIFA 19 . [4]
The album is dedicated to the memory of Scott Hutchison, frontman for the Scottish folk rock band Frightened Rabbit, who died in May 2018. [5] Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard was a friend of Hutchison and an admirer of his songwriting, and the two bands had toured together in 2008. [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.5/10 [7] |
| Metacritic | 69/100 [8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| The A.V. Club | B− [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+ [11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| The Independent | [13] |
| NME | [14] |
| Pitchfork | 6.0/10 [15] |
| Q | [16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| Uncut | 7/10 [18] |
Thank You for Today currently holds a Metacritic score of 69, indicating generally favorable reviews. [8] Madison Desler of Paste Magazine praised the album, describing it as "a fresh take on Death Cab's familiar sound" and "another fine stop in Death Cab's ongoing evolution." [19] The Guardian's Michael Hann was also positive in his four-star review, noting: "The melodies are gorgeous, never overdone but always foregrounded: you would get almost nothing from the individual elements, from the bass, the guitar, the keyboards and the voice, but they add up to much more than the sum of their parts." [12]
Other reviews were more mixed in their reception, such as Pitchfork's Larry Fitzmaurice. His review acknowledged that while Thank You for Today was "the strongest Death Cab album of the 2010s," he also described that title as "a dubious achievement" and noted "there’s moments that suggest Gibbard and the rest of Death Cab are still struggling through the beige malaise that has cast a pall over their more recent work." [15] Writing for Entertainment Weekly , Joseph Longo described Thank You for Today as the band's "midlife crisis record," adding: "...what once exuded cathartic melancholia has now matured into overwrought melodrama." [11]
In a negative review of the album, Tyler Clark from Consequence of Sound criticised the production and the songwriting on the album. Noting that the album is Gibbard's first since he turned 40, Clark says that "without the will or ability to eschew generalities for details, he leaves his anti-gentrification songs undercooked and his middle-aged musings feeling perfunctory and safe." [20]
All lyrics written by Ben Gibbard.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Dreamt We Spoke Again" | Ben Gibbard | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Summer Years" | Gibbard, Jason McGerr | 4:28 |
| 3. | "Gold Rush" | Gibbard, Dave Depper, Yoko Ono | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Your Hurricane" | Gibbard | 3:18 |
| 5. | "When We Drive" | Gibbard | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Autumn Love" | Gibbard | 4:18 |
| 7. | "Northern Lights" | Gibbard | 3:56 |
| 8. | "You Moved Away" | Gibbard | 3:49 |
| 9. | "Near/Far" | Gibbard | 3:41 |
| 10. | "60 & Punk" | Gibbard | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 38:30 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Autumn Love" (Demo Version) | 7:45 |
| Total length: | 46:23 | |
Death Cab for Cutie
Additional personnel
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [22] | 55 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [23] | 73 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [24] | 44 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) [25] | 21 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [26] | 62 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] | 53 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [28] | 57 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [29] | 140 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [30] | 14 |
| Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [31] | 7 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [32] | 56 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [33] | 44 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [34] | 24 |
| US Billboard 200 [35] | 13 |
The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals.
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard, Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper, Zac Rae, and Jason McGerr (drums).
Benjamin Gibbard is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup The Postal Service. Gibbard released his debut solo album, Former Lives, in 2012, and a collaborative studio album, One Fast Move or I'm Gone (2009) with Jay Farrar.
Something About Airplanes is the debut studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 18, 1998, on Barsuk Records. A tenth-anniversary edition of the album was released November 25, 2008, featuring redesigned artwork, liner notes by Sean Nelson, and a bonus disc including the band's first ever Seattle performance at the Crocodile Cafe in February 1998.
Transatlanticism is the fourth studio album by rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on October 7, 2003, by Barsuk Records. At this point in their career, the group had toured and recorded for nearly a half-decade. With tensions rising, the band decided to take time away from one another; notably, Ben Gibbard collaborated with electronic musician Dntel, and released an album, Give Up, under the name the Postal Service. Death Cab regrouped in late 2002 to create Transatlanticism, which was recorded in a leisurely manner over five-day stretches until June 2003.
Plans is the fifth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 30, 2005 on Atlantic Records. Emerging from the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s, Death Cab first rose to prominence on the strength of its confessional lyricism and textured indie rock sound. Following a longstanding partnership with indie label Barsuk, the band made the leap to a major label, Atlantic, for Plans. The LP was the band's first time recording outside of their Seattle home; it was produced at Long View Farm, a rural Massachusetts property.
"I Will Follow You into the Dark" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the third single from their fifth album, Plans, released in 2005.
"Soul Meets Body" is a song recorded by the American rock band Death Cab for Cutie for their fifth studio album Plans (2005). It was released as the lead single from Plans in 2005, through Atlantic Records. Death Cab for Cutie emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the early aughts and built a following with its confessional lyricism and straightforward indie rock sound. "Soul Meets Body" was their first single for Atlantic, the major label with which they signed in 2004. The song is thematically existential, examining the intersection of soul and body though a relationship metaphor.
Narrow Stairs is the sixth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 12, 2008, in the United Kingdom and on May 13, 2008, in the United States, on Atlantic and Barsuk Records.
"I Will Possess Your Heart" is an alternative rock song recorded by the American band Death Cab for Cutie. The song depicts a one-sided obsessive relationship, which led Paste to name it one of the 25 creepiest songs about love. It is notable for its five-minute instrumental introduction as well as its music video which required location shooting across four continents. The song was the lead single from their sixth studio album, Narrow Stairs (2008).
Death Cab for Cutie has released ten studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), a demo tape, a digital album, one live album, thirty-two singles, nine music videos, and two DVDs. Death Cab for Cutie is an American indie rock group from Bellingham, Washington and was formed in 1997 by Ben Gibbard as a side project from Pinwheel. After releasing a demo tape, he added guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Nathan Good to the band. Death Cab signed to Barsuk Records and released four extended plays (EPs) and four studio albums through the label. The fourth album, Transatlanticism, reached number 97 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified gold in the United States. The group also issued nine singles and a demo tape through Barsuk.
Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician.
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Kintsugi is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on March 31, 2015, on Atlantic Records. Recorded at Eldorado Recording Studios, in Burbank, California, Kintsugi is produced by Rich Costey, and is the first Death Cab for Cutie album to feature an outside producer. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.
"The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It is the second single from their eighth studio album Kintsugi. The driving, uptempo track explores themes of loss in the aftermath of heartbreak. Frontman Ben Gibbard wrote the song after his divorce from actress Zooey Deschanel, and the lyrics of the song directly reference Beverly Hills and what he viewed as its vapid celebrity culture.
Gold Rush is a song by American indie pop band Death Cab for Cutie, released as the lead single for their ninth studio album, Thank You for Today, on June 13, 2018.
"Northern Lights" is a song recorded by the American rock band Death Cab for Cutie for their seventh studio album, Thank You for Today (2018). It was released as the third single from Thank You for Today on November 16, 2018, through Atlantic Records.
Dave Depper is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie.
Zac Rae is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded two studio albums and two EPs.
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