Broken Record

In September, Ben Gibbard, the founder of Death Cab For Cutie, will set out on a nationwide tour to celebrate the two very different albums that have come to define his career. Both albums came out in 2003. The first was called Give Up, and it was a collaboration with his friend and producer Jimmy Tamborello. They’d made it while Gibbard was taking a break from the relentless cycle of touring and releasing music with Death Cab. They called their new band The Postal Service. Give Up steadily built momentum, found critical acclaim, and eventually became Gibbard’s first platinum selling record. Musically, the Postal Service incorporated various synth and new wave-inspired elements behind Gibbard’s confessional songwriting style, which set a precedent for many of the indie releases over the following decade. Later that same year, Gibbard went back to his band roots and released Death Cab For Cuties’ breakthrough album, Transatlanticism. This fall Gibbard and his band will play both Transatlanticism and Give Up in