Asphalt Meadows

Last updated
Asphalt Meadows
AsphaltMeadows.webp
Studio album by
Death Cab for Cutie
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2022
Recorded2021
Studio
  • United (Los Angeles)
  • Grumpybeard (Los Angeles)
  • Litho (Seattle)
Genre
Length42:05
Label Atlantic
Producer John Congleton
Death Cab for Cutie chronology
The Blue EP
(2019)		Asphalt Meadows
(2022)

Asphalt Meadows is the tenth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It was released on September 16, 2022, through Atlantic Records.

Contents

Produced by John Congleton, the album was preceded by the singles "Roman Candles", "Here to Forever" and "Foxglove Through the Clearcut". "Here To Forever" became the band's seventh career #1 hit on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart in August 2022, and its follow-up "Pepper" became the band's eighth in March 2023.

Background and recording

In 2018, Death Cab for Cutie released its ninth studio album, Thank You for Today , which was the first to feature new members Dave Depper and Zac Rae, who joined the band in 2015, following the departure of longtime guitarist and producer Chris Walla. At the tail end of an extensive and successful tour in support of the album, the band issued a stopgap extended play, titled The Blue EP in 2019, which combined newly written material – recorded with producer Peter Katsis – with leftover songs from the Thank You for Today sessions.

The following year, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic took hold, causing social and economic disruption; for the band, it altered their ability to tour and record in-person. While certain musical ideas and pieces predate the onset of the pandemic, [1] much of Asphalt Meadows was written throughout the course of 2020 and 2021. For half of Asphalt Meadows, the band employed tactics to write material remotely, utilizing Dropbox to send files back and forth. On Monday, one band member would write a bed track for a new song, before handing it off to the next musician, and so on. [2] Each musician had creative license to take the music wherever they felt comfortable, leading to more unexpected harmonic avenues. Gibbard likened the process to "chain-letter songwriting." [3] The method gave rise to nearly ninety songs in varying stages of completion, later narrowed down to eleven for the record. [4] The band initially began working on recording the material with a British producer, but "COVID and creative differences" forced the group to reconsider. [5]

The band came together to record this material and more with producer John Congleton, [2] a veteran musician who both engineered and mixed the project. Rae had first introduced Gibbard and Congleton in mid-2021, who developed a fast friendship. [5] Asphalt Meadows was recorded mainly at United Recording and Grumpybeard in Los Angeles, with additional recording taking place at Studio Litho in the band's home of Seattle.

On March 10, 2023, the band released an acoustic version of the album. The acoustic album included a twelfth track, a cover of Low's "The Plan" in tribute to Low drummer Mimi Parker, who passed away in November 2022. [6]

Composition

The album's centerpiece, "Foxglove Through the Clearcut", examines a protagonist who lives by an ocean, but fears its contents. Longbeach WA coast.jpg
The album's centerpiece, "Foxglove Through the Clearcut", examines a protagonist who lives by an ocean, but fears its contents.

Musically, Asphalt Meadows has been described by music critics as indie rock, [7] [8] [9] [10] indie pop, [11] post-punk. [12] The opening track, "I Don't Know How I Survive", speaks directly to Gibbard's personal anxiety surrounding the pandemic. [1] "Roman Candles" stemmed from the fact that the album lacked fast, more immediate songs, leading Gibbard to initially develop the song around a Faust sample. Congleton discarded the sample and instead built the track from heavily distorted kick drum sounds. [13] "Rand McNally" takes its title from the American publishing company that produced physical maps and atlases. Gibbard wrote the song with former band members Chris Walla, Nathan Good and Michael Schorr in mind, noting: "This is my life's work. When members leave bands, they're often seminal members. That fans continue to support [the band] is a testament to how important the music is to them. I wanted to write something to and for everyone who has been in this band, who helped make it what it is, to say I'm not going to let the light fade." [14]

"Here to Forever" examines the passage of time; in the song, a protagonist views an old movie and observes that though the film remains, much of its participants are long dead. The post-rock inflected "Foxglove Through the Clearcut" anchors the middle of the record, and centers around a slow-building spoken word monologue interspersed with crashing guitar work. The song's origins date to the earliest years of the band: Gibbard discovered reels of four-track recordings he made from that period, and took a guitar part from one demo dating to 1998. He wrote the song about a fictional character—a man who "used to live by the ocean but never set foot in the sea"—but came around to finding some autobiography in his prose: "I started to realize that it's [about] me. Perhaps it’s because of the gap between the beginning of this composition and now, there was me at two different places in my life and I was speaking to myself after I’d had a long journey," he explained. [5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [16]
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Exclaim! 8/10 [19]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Paste 7.6/10 [20]
Pitchfork 7.4/10 [9]
PopMatters 8/10 [10]
Under the Radar Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [21]

Asphalt Meadows received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [15]

Tatiana Tenreyro at Spin called it their "best album in years", [4] while Rick Quinn from PopMatters considered it a mid-career triumph, writing that it "doesn't merely repeat the melancholy of their work in the early aughts. Instead, it expands and deepens their signature sound without abandoning it." [10] AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung was effusive, commenting, "For a group so deep into their careers, the album sounds surprisingly urgent and revitalized [...] energetic highlights abound." [16]

In a more reserved review for Pitchfork , Ian Cohen wrote that, "if Asphalt Meadows doesn’t amplify the stakes of forty-something romantic misunderstandings the way “A Movie Script Ending” or “Title and Registration” did in college, it at least unlocks the repressed memory of what it was like to be deeply moved by Death Cab for Cutie songs." [9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Gibbard, unless otherwise noted

Asphalt Meadows track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Don't Know How I Survive" 3:40
2."Roman Candles" 2:10
3."Asphalt Meadows"
4:05
4."Rand McNally"
4:06
5."Here to Forever"
  • Gibbard
  • Rae
3:46
6."Foxglove Through the Clearcut" 5:15
7."Pepper"
  • Gibbard
  • Rae
2:48
8."I Miss Strangers"
  • Gibbard
  • Depper
4:24
9."Wheat Like Waves" 3:38
10."Fragments from the Decade"
4:38
11."I'll Never Give Up on You"
  • Gibbard
  • Harmer
  • Rae
  • Depper
3:31
Total length:42:05

The acoustic version adds:

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."The Plan" Low 3:22

Personnel

Death Cab for Cutie

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Asphalt Meadows
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA) [22] 13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [23] 81
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [24] 95
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [25] 14
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [26] 179
Scottish Albums (OCC) [27] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [28] 82
UK Albums (OCC) [29] 89
US Billboard 200 [30] 60
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [31] 4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [32] 12

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Postal Service</span> American indie rock band

The Postal Service is an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Cab for Cutie</span> American rock band

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Gibbard</span> American musician (born 1976)

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.

<i>Something About Airplanes</i> 1998 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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.

<i>Transatlanticism</i> 2003 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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.

<i>Plans</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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 tracked at Long View Farm, a rural Massachusetts property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Will Follow You into the Dark</span> 2005 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"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 on August 30, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soul Meets Body</span> 2005 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"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 on July 16, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Movie Script Ending</span> 2002 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"A Movie Script Ending" is a song recorded by the American rock band Death Cab for Cutie for their third studio album, The Photo Album (2001). It was released as the lead single from The Photo Album on February 8, 2002 through Barsuk Records.

<i>Narrow Stairs</i> 2008 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Will Possess Your Heart</span> 2008 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Cab for Cutie discography</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meet Me on the Equinox</span> 2009 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"Meet Me on the Equinox" is a song by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie that was released as the first single from the soundtrack to the 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The song debuted on September 13 during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video, directed by the Walter Robot team, premiered in October.

<i>Codes and Keys</i> 2011 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

Codes and Keys is the seventh studio album by Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 31, 2011. Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer have both been quoted as saying that the album will be "a much less guitar-centric album than we've ever made before". The first single, "You Are a Tourist", was made available for online stream on March 28, 2011 on the band's official site and the album was available for streaming in its entirety on May 23, 2011 on NPR. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 102,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 283,000 copies in the US as of March 2015. On November 30, 2011, the album received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album.

<i>Kintsugi</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ghosts of Beverly Drive</span> 2015 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" is a song by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It is the second single from their eighth studio album Kintsugi.

<i>Thank You for Today</i> 2018 studio album by Death Cab for Cutie

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.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here to Forever</span> 2022 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"Here to Forever" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the fifth track on their tenth studio album, Asphalt Meadows (2022). It was released as the second single from Asphalt Meadows on July 13, 2022, through Atlantic Records.

"Stay Young, Go Dancing" is a song recorded by the American rock band Death Cab for Cutie for their seventh studio album, Codes and Keys (2011). It was released as the third single from Codes and Keys on September 26, 2011, through Atlantic Records.

References

  1. 1 2 Hosken, Patrick (September 12, 2022). "We've Got A File On You: Ben Gibbard". Stereogum. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Jones, Abby (September 14, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie Aren't Bored Yet: Interview". Consequence. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  3. ↑ Arnold, Chuck (September 16, 2022). "Ben Gibbard Talks Death Cab for Cutie at 25 Years and Today's 'Unfair and Unethical' Streaming Economy". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Tenreyro, Tatiana (September 14, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie's 'Exciting' Writing Experiment Fueled Their Best Album in Years". Spin . Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Richards, Will (September 12, 2022). "Death Cab For Cutie on their new album 'Asphalt Meadows': "This feels like a new band"". NME. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  6. ↑ Geiger, Amy (2023-01-31). "Death Cab For Cutie share Low cover, releasing acoustic version of 'Asphalt Meadows'". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  7. ↑ Tuck, Dylan (September 12, 2022). "Death Cab For Cutie – Asphalt Meadows". The Skinny . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Murphy, John (September 18, 2022). "Death Cab For Cutie – Asphalt Meadows" . musicOMH . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Cohen, Ian (September 21, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie: Asphalt Meadows Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Quinn, Rick (September 19, 2022). "Death Cab For Cutie: Asphalt Meadows (Album Review)". PopMatters . Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Trendell, Andrew (September 12, 2022). "Death Cab For Cutie – 'Asphalt Meadows' review: a return to the college rockers' best". NME . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  12. ↑ Terich, Jeff (September 16, 2022). "Every Death Cab For Cutie Album, Ranked". Spin . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  13. ↑ Roth, Madeline (August 28, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard Is 'I Think You Should Leave's' Number One Fan". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie: Brilliant Corners Press Release". Brilliant Corners. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Reviews for Asphalt Meadows by Death Cab for Cutie". Metacritic . Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Yeung, Neil Z. (September 16, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Jen (September 16, 2022). "Marcus Mumford confronts his demons, Rina Sawayama is Dr Frankenstein – the week's best albums" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ Tipple, Ben (September 16, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie - Asphalt Meadows". DIY . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  19. ↑ McLean, Wesley (September 15, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie Evolve into Themselves on 'Asphalt Meadows'". Exclaim! . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  20. ↑ Sharples, Grant (September 16, 2022). "Asphalt Meadows Is Death Cab for Cutie's Most Consistent Album in Over a Decade". Paste . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  21. ↑ Saalman, Austin (September 16, 2022). "Death Cab for Cutie: Asphalt Meadows (Atlantic) - review". Under the Radar . Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  22. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 26 September 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1699. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 26, 2022. p. 10.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2022. 38. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Death Cab For Cutie". Oricon . Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.