Death Cab For Cutie thrives in major leagues

By Cortney Harding

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Death Cab for Cutie does not make overwhelming records.

The Pacific Northwest rock quartet's albums, including its May 13 release, "Narrow Stairs," are smart, subtle and emotional affairs that take time to sink in.

The sales reflect this. Death Cab's Atlantic debut, 2005's "Plans," sold 90,000 units in its first week, and has never sold less than 1,000 copies per week since; sales to date stand at about 943,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Its five previous albums, released on the indie label Barsuk, sold 1.1 million copies combined.

"Plans" spawned two hit singles, "Soul Meets Body" and "Crooked Teeth." Heavy radio airplay had never happened before Atlantic entered the picture. Of course, signing with a major induces a lot of soul-searching and uncertainty among indie bands, and Death Cab was no exception.

Even after the band signed, it was still wary of aspects of the major-label model, going as far as suggesting that fans download the record for free. Atlantic kept Barsuk in the fold when the band came over to the major. The Seattle label will release the vinyl version of "Narrow Stairs."

Credibility is a key issue for Death Cab. After finishing the album, the band ignited a huge buzz by streaming the full eight-minute and 35-second version of the first single, "I Will Possess Your Heart," from its Web site last month. As word spread through the blogosphere, influential radio stations in Los Angeles quickly started playing the track.

To make sure the band was comfortable with the song being shortened for commercial airplay, Atlantic enlisted guitarist Chris Walla to do the radio edit.

"We are also making a point of getting the long version out there as much as possible, to respect the original song," says Dane Venable, Atlantic's head of marketing. "That is the version of the single that will be put up on iTunes along with the pre-order, as opposed to the radio version."

Atlantic said virtually every song from "Plans" was licensed for use on film or TV, and it has high hopes for "Narrow Stairs." Indeed, Death Cab's status as Seth Cohen's favorite band on "The OC" was a key factor in helping build its brand and name recognition, although it is careful to point out that it won't sell its tracks to just anyone.

"We're obviously not opposed to licensing," lead singer Ben Gibbard says with a laugh. "But it has to be the right thing. We wouldn't license a song to a corporation or organization whose work or products we were strongly opposed to."

The band, rounded out by bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Jason McGerr, is equally careful about protecting its brand name, although the members are reluctant to acknowledge it at first.

"It feels a little weird to think about the bands we loved as brands," Walla says. "I mean, I guess Fugazi was a brand, and Pavement was a brand, even if it was never spelled out. But you have to be really careful with that, because it can cross the line really quickly. Look at how many people are wearing Ramones shirts and then think about how many of them would be able to name even one Ramones song."

"We prefer to think of our brand in terms of how we present our music," Gibbard says. "We want it to be a cohesive concept, with the artwork and the multimedia and the visual presence all unified."

Aside from branding and licensing, the band's greatest boosts have come from its willingness to tour almost constantly. "Always," Walla says. "We are always touring."