Something About Airplanes

A strange and beautiful thing happens on this reissue's bonus live disc. During the first song of their maiden Seattle show, in 1998, Death Cab play "Your Bruise" with the melancholy precision that later became their hallmark. Not every cut on their debut is that assured: Guitarist-producer Chris Walla hadn't yet mastered the studio, and singer Ben Gibbard's articulate moodiness isn't consistently memorable. But on the lovely, cello-adorned "Bend to Squares," the band creeps along with deliberation, like children trying not to leave footprints in icy snow.