Death Cab for Cutie preps for album release, extends tour

Death Cab for Cutie will be hitting the road for an international tour in May, only days before the release of the band’s latest album Narrow Stairs May 13 on Atlantic.

Frontman Ben Gibbard and bandmates Chris Walla, Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr have added tons of U.S. dates since their original tour announcement last month. The band will kick off its summer tour May 6 in London, before traveling back to the U.S. for two months, and then on to the U.K. and Japan.

Narrow Stairs is sure to be one of Death Cab’s most personal albums yet. In his essay “The Meaning of Life” (Paste’s May cover story), Gibbard wrote of the new album, “With this record, if I didn’t have something to write about that I’ve experienced, if I couldn’t visualize myself in that scenario and really put myself in the shoes of the narrator, then I felt I shouldn’t be writing it. I’m having my own experience here, and I’m writing about it.”

Anxious for a preview of Narrow Stairs? You can stream the album’s first single “I Will Possess Your Heart” here, courtesy of Atlantic Records. Two additional songs from the album, “Cath” and “Talking Bird,” are available for download on Daytrotter.com.

Dates:

May
6 - London, England @ Electric Ballroom
9 - Providence, R.I. - Providence Piers
10 - Boston, Mass. @ Bank of America Pavilion
24 - Bend, Ore. @ Les Schwab Amphitheater
25 - George, Wash. @ The Gorge (Sasquatch!)
26 - Lehi, Utah @ Thanksgiving Point
28 - Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
30 - Kansas City, Mo. @ City Market
31 - Columbia, Mo. @ Ninth Street Summerfest

June
2 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Orpheum Theatre
3 - Chicago, Ill. @ Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion
4 - Detroit, Mich. @ Fox Theatre
6 - Montreal, Quebec @ Jacques Cartier Pier
7 - Toronto, Ontario @ Olympic Island
9 - Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ McCarren Park Pool
12 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Mann Center for the Performing Arts
13 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Plain Dealer Pavilion
14 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Lawn at White River State
15 - Manchester, Tenn. @ Bonnaroo
17 - Grand Prairie, Texas @ Nokia Theatre
19 - Mesa, Ariz. @ Mesa Amphitheatre
20 - San Diego, Calif. @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
21 - Berkley, Calif. @ Greek Theatre
23 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Nokia Theatre
24 - Santa Barbara, Calif. @ Santa Barbara Bowl

July
3 - Kristiansand, Norway @ Quart Festival
5 - Arvika, Sweden @ Arvikafestivalen
7 - Paris, France @ Alhambra
8 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Riverenhof
9 - Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
11 - Berlin, Germany @ Kesselhaus
12 - Hamburg, Germany @ Grosse Freiheit 36
15 - Birmingham, England @ Academy
16 - Manchester, England @ Ardwick Green
17 - London, England @ Brixton Academy
17-20 - Benicassim, Spain @ Benicassim Festival
27 - Pemberton, British Columbia @ Pemberton Festival