Death Cab for Cutie Announce The Blue EP, Release “Kids in ’99”

Diving into their next venture, Death Cab For Cutie have announced their forthcoming The Blue EP and released its lead single, “Kids in ’99.”

The track pays tribute to the 1999 Bellingham Olympic Pipeline explosion in Seattle and the three children who lost their lives due to it. Featuring frontman Benjamin Gibbard’s signature vocals and a forlorn, melancholic feel over rapid, jumpy drumming and subdued instrumentals, the track dwells on what could’ve been.

“The Olympic Pipeline explosion in 1999 was a tragedy that really affected me while we were living in Bellingham,” Gibbard said in a statement. “After all these years I felt it was worthy of its own folk song.”

The song is the first from Death Cab’s forthcoming EP, The Blue EP, which is out Sept. 6 via Atlantic. The release follows their 2018 album Thank You for Today, and was produced by Peter Katis, Rich Costey and the band themselves.

Recently, Gibbard and the band received acclaim for their feature on “Do You Remember,” off Chance the Rapper’s new album The Big Day. Furthermore, the band recently finished up another leg of their tour, and are set to wrap up the tour in September.

Listen to Death Cab For Cutie’s “Kids in ’99” below, and view the cover art and tracklist for The Blue EP further down. You can also revisit a 2008 performance from the band from the Paste archives.