History Music / DeathCabForCutie

Already well known in the Seattle area, Death Cab's breakout hit was their 2003 album ''Transatlanticism'', which saw exposure in television shows such as TheOC (in which it forms part of Seth Cohen's indie starter pack) and SixFeetUnder. The attention prompted them to move from Barsuk Records, which had accommodated Gibbard and company for the past decade, to Atlantic Records. Since their move to Atlantic, they have steadily become more popular, with their following albums ''Plans'' and ''Narrow Stairs'' becoming increasingly popular and well selling.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Usually averted, which makes its appearances in Title and Registration that much more noticeable:

* ContinuityNod: In "Why You'd Want to Live Here" (a huge TakeThat at the city of Los Angeles), Ben refers to L.A. as "the belly of the beast." He must have had a change of heart at some point, because "Stay Young, Go Dancing" starts with the line "Life is sweet in the belly of the beast." (It's worth noting that when the latter song was released, he was married to Hollywood actress Creator/ZooeyDeschanel.)

* ContinuityNod: In "Why You'd Want to Live Here" (a huge TakeThat at the city of Los Angeles), Ben refers to California as "the belly of the beast." He must have had a change of heart at some point, because "Stay Young, Go Dancing" starts with the line "Life is sweet in the belly of the beast." (It's worth noting that when the latter song was released, he was married to Hollywood actress Creator/ZooeyDeschanel.)

* ContinuityNod: "Why You'd Want to Live Here" (a huge TakeThat at the city of Los Angeles), Ben refers to California as "the belly of the beast." He must have had a change of heart at some point, because "Stay Young, Go Dancing" starts with the line "Life is sweet in the belly of the beast." (It's worth noting that when the latter song was released, he was married to Hollywood actress Creator/ZooeyDeschanel.)

* ContinuityNod: "Why You'd Want to Live Here" is a huge TakeThat at the city of Los Angeles, and refers to California as "the belly of the beast." Ben must have had a change of heart at some point, because "Stay Young, Go Dancing" starts with the line "Life is sweet in the belly of the beast." (It's worth noting that when the latter song was released, he was married to Hollywood actress Creator/ZooeyDeschanel.)

* BarredFromTheAfterlife: Also, discussed in the song "I Will Follow You Into The Dark": "When heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the nos on their vacancy signs."

I'll follow you into the dark''

** Or "Death of an Interior Decorator", who's subject is cheated on by her husband, witnesses DCFC's most tumultuous wedding ceremony, and is slowly withering away through life?

** Almost every song on the album Transatlanticism, if you turn up the volume and listen closely.

-->''If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied\\

** "We Looked Like Giants" can stretch to as long as ten minutes live, while versions of "Scientist Studies" and "Blacking Out the Friction" can reach nine. [[hottip:*:The last case is only a partial example, though, as it generally segues into a cover of {{Bjork}}'s "All is Full of Love" in the second half.]]

* EpicRocking / EpicInstrumentalOpener: "I Will Possess Your Heart" (about 8 1/2 minutes) and "Transatlanticism" (nearly 8 minutes).

** While not ''quite'' as impressive as the other examples, "Unobstructed Views" has a three-minute instrumental intro.

* EpicInstrumentalOpener: "Unobstructed Views" has a three minute instrumental intro.
* EpicRocking: "I Will Possess Your Heart" (about 8 1/2 minutes) and "Transatlanticism" (nearly 8 minutes).

* CessationOfExistance: {{Discussed}} in "Saint Peter's Cathedral"

** A more recent example would be St. Peter's Cathedral.
-->"... when our hearts stop ticking, this is the end, there's nothing past this."

* EmoKid: Subverted, much to the surprise to some new listeners of the band. With a name like that and Ben Gibbard's look, you'd expect him to be screaming about how life is unfair. In fact, quite a lot of Death Cab's songs are melancholy ballads.

** While not ''quite'' as impressive as the other examples, "Unobstructed Views" has a three minute instrumental intro.

-->'You look so defeated lying there in your new twin-sized bed,
-->with a single pillow underneath your single head...'

* NewSoundAlbum: While the band's sound has been evolving gradually since the beginning, "Codes and Keys" makes the most drastic stylistic jump. The lyrics are more optimistic than usual (probably because Gibbard was married at the time of its release) and there is a heavier emphasis on electronic instrumentation.

-->''You look so defeated lying there in your new twin-sized bed,
-->with a single pillow underneath your single head...''

* CompletelyMissingThePoint: The aforementioned "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" is bandied about as ''the'' typical love song, and is thrown around as such by people who come across it randomly. Even in professional works, for example, ''GreysAnatomy'', who used it for an episode title in the brain-tumour-Denny arc, despite the actual existence and knowledge of the afterlife in the show. ''{{Scrubs}}'' averted it by using it as an exit song for an episode about what happens when we die.
** To be fair, it ''is'' a love song. The problem is that it's kind of like RomeoAndJuliet, in that using/describing it as such tends to undersell its depth and nuance.

* CoverVersion: Ben Gibbard's solo project [[HeavyMetalUmlaut ¡All-Time Quarterback!]] covered [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magnetic_Fields The Magnetic Fields']] "Why I Cry".

*** ''"You look so defeated lying there in your new twin-sized bed, / with a single pillow underneath your single head..."''

** "Your New Twin Sized Bed" is a catchy tune about insecurity and failing relationships.