Review: Death Cab for Cutie + The Postal Service @ Utilita Arena Cardiff
By Aditi Hrisheekesh, Co-Deputy Music Editor
Sometimes, you may not miss the past itself, but the feeling or the idea of missing it can be addictive. Things that once seemed insurmountable suddenly become manageable when softened by memory – it can be a cathartic comfort of sorts.
That is what the night felt like, at least for me. Knee-deep in nostalgia, wading in it like I was wearing my childhood wellies, this bittersweet feeling was laden into a co-headline tour with indie rockers Death Cab for Cutie and indie-electronica band The Postal Service, presenting their iconic works Transatlanticism and Give Up, as part of their 20th-anniversary tour.
The songs are inexplicably sad: it was like looking back at the past through stained glass, with sharper colours and the bright lights of the arena bringing old emotions vividly into focus.
The night kicked off with guests Teenage Fanclub, a Scottish alt-rock band who took to the stage with a confident swagger and an endearingly sunny disposition. They wielded jangly guitars and power-pop vocals, showcasing a sheer knack for catchy hooks, with their whole set packing a punch.
Naming Cardiff 'a second home for some of us, first home for a couple of us', they struck a chord with their opening track ‘Home’, setting a poignant tone with: ‘I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be home again, I just don't know when I'll open that door again.’
Soon, the first of the co-headliners, Death Cab for Cutie, took to the stage in the almost intimidatingly large arena, managing to make it their own. Donned in black, an emotional dexterity was harnessed by frontman Ben Gibbard, as the band delivered Transatlanticism in its entirety. The crunchy texture of ‘New Year’, the first song on the album, punctured the air with a depth in their tone that saluted the spirit of early 2000s emo.
There is something so utterly poignant in how a song that is two decades old can still sound like a fresh start, tinged with both melancholy and hope. Clean guitar arpeggios anchored Gibbard’s shimmering vocals, which were crystal clear and nothing short of emotion-laden. The lyrics implied that the fresh start was only an illusion, something that’s never quite as transformative as it promises to be – yet still somehow oddly comforting.
Pop-propelled tracks such as ‘The Sound of Settling’ brought a jovial buoyancy to the set, whilst ‘Lack of Color’, with its stripped-back acoustic arrangement, closed with a bittersweet ache of finality and solitude. An acceptance of what has been, and a celebration of what is still to come.
It reminded me of hearing of the indie band for the first time – when I was about six or seven, my older sister would relentlessly play ‘I Will Follow You into the Dark’ on the electric piano in the home I grew up in (that, along with the Twilight theme song — a relic of the time). Music that reminds me of the yellowish living room carpet, and my obnoxiously green primary school uniform.
The night gave these memories a stillness, a constancy, despite how my life has obviously changed since (I’m nineteen now, and she’s twenty-eight, and she still occasionally plays that song).
‘So this is the new year and I don’t feel any different.’
However, whilst Death Cab for Cutie is remarkably reminiscent, clinging onto remnants of the past, The Postal Service is undeniably futuristic. Gibbard returned to the stage for his second set of the night to perform the electronically-driven band’s sole yet sensational album Give Up.
The Postal Service projected a sound that marvelled in synth-pop, weaving through the coolness of digital textures. With the delicacy of twinkling synths and layered electronic orchestration, tracks such as ‘Such Great Heights’ and ‘Sleeping In’ kinetically bounced with bright, arpeggiated synth lines, yet Gibbard’s vocals kept things grounded, cutting through the digital layers with a human touch. Tamborello’s production, vocal sampling, and pitch manipulation gave the music a surreal, otherworldly feel – like a spacecraft just touching down on Earth.
However, in their encore, they performed the acoustic version of ‘Such Great Heights’ – the delicacy of organic warmth bridged the electronic shimmer with Death Cab for Cutie’s rawness. Like a moment of equilibrium between their past and future, fitting for a band that emerged on the cusp of the digital revolution of music that is only becoming more relevant today.
The night closed with both bands uniting to perform a rendition of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy the Silence’ – a song that lyrically satisfies the stillness of the present whilst celebrating the past and future.
Featured Image: Eve DaviesWhat concert would be the most nostalgic for you?