Ben Gibbard says Narrow Stairs follow-up will be softer

Chatting with Spin, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie said that he plans to take the band's next record in a different direction. Fans of the group know that this year's Narrow Stairs was, while pretty great, a very heavy record, both lyrically and musically.

"The next record will be a little softer," he told Spin. "I'm interested in writing a very different type of record next time." Not that Gibbard doesn't love the feel and sound of the band's current release, continuing, "I feel like there's a lot of beauty in the darkness of Narrow Stairs, but that's not really a place I'm ready to go to for a while."

"I'm interested in taking a different approach and having the next record be different in tone -- I'm just not interested in making another dark, dark album. Just not two in a row. I felt pretty exhausted when we got done with Stairs." Fair enough.

It's no surprise that the prolific quartet is already thinking about their next disc, and in a way it kind of makes sense for Gibbard and Co. to want to take things a little easier after a busy year. The band is currently on tour with Neil Young.

Related links:
Cover Story: The Hardest Working Band in Showbiz
Review: Narrow Stairs
News: Neil Young takes Wilco and Death Cab on tour

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