Death Cab For Cutie

And there are a good handful of new songs played tonight, the ‘intimate’ surroundings of the 1100-capacity Electric Ballroom proving a good match for the muscular guitars and bass that characterise the new record. Shorn of his usually ever-present thick glasses, singer Ben Gibbard looks rather dynamic and a tad handsome on stage, brimming with confidence as six new songs are dispatched. Opener ‘Bixby Canyon Bridge’ acts as a statement of intent; trailing guitars, pounding drums and suitably glass half-full lyrics combine to create an atmospheric, scene-setting opener. The best of those played tonight are 'Grapevine Fires' and 'Long Division'; the former a melodic, almost folksy tale that is introduced as “a true story” which charms and lulls in equal measure, the latter a fuzz-laden driving pop song given a metallic twinge by Chris Walla, full of tumbling choruses and crackling analogue synth. It’s momentous-sounding and hints towards the large arenas that the band probably hope to be filling over the next twelve months – at least in their homeland.

The entire show has a celebratory air about it; there are no crossed arms or furrowed brows, any negativity replaced by happy expectancy and the quiet hope that the quartet will remember to give the crowd enough older material to fill their bellies. And, like the seasoned, professional pros they now are, the band do so. Rationing out tracks from their previous releases inbetween new songs, and dropping in enough anthems to gives themselves imperious momentum. The Plans-era double whammy of ‘Soul Meets Body’ and a stripped-down ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ - which was dedicated "to a friend who’s had a tough month and has a big day today – Barack" - have already become anthems, while _Transatlanticism favourites ‘The New Year’, ‘Title & Registration’ and ‘The Sound Of Settling’ were arguably the most well-received of the night. For the more ardent of Death Cabbers and to avoid accusations of being too foward-looking, there was a chance to holler along to ‘Photobooth’ and ‘A Movie Script Ending’.