"Unfolding with the languid grace and hazy, blurred colors of a remembered summer romance, Death Cab for Cutie traipse through a minefield of memories, negotiating emotional egress in such a way to avoid blowing their hearts to bits. From a son's squelched anger, expressed through an evasive epitaph for an alcoholic, deadbeat father ("Styrofoam Plates"), to gentle, road-worn reminiscences ("A Movie Script Ending"), to two people reunited by chance, who "talk about the people we've met in the last five years, and will we remember them in 10 more" ("Steadier Footing"), DCFC transform a shoebox full of tattered snapshot sketches into their latest release, The Photo Album. It's the quartet's most polished and assured release to date, imbued with their hypnotic, indie-pop style, Ben Gibbard's airy, Martschian (Built to Spill's Doug Martsch) vocals, exhibiting the bittersweet tenor that, judging from geographical contemporaries such as Quasi, Modest Mouse and Elliott Smith, must come from something in the water."  (Independent Online)

"On [The Photo Album], the melodies and guitars are more tightly interwoven than ever before, and the high-pitched vocals and sharp, reflective lyrics of principal songwriter Benjamin Gibbard make a perfect complement to the tight guitars and midtempo beats."  (Mercury News)

"Benjamin Gibbard's images have punch lines. On the Seattle foursome's third album, those guitar-spattered snapshots elevate his storytelling far above the occasionally fetching but frequently fleeting indie-pop cumulus. "Why You'd Want to Live Here" might be the best song about Los Angeles since John and Exene grabbed a pen, and "Styrofoam Plates" shakes with fury, a post-mortem invective to a deadbeat dad. These are songs you probably won't hum but possibly will quote, and definitely remember."  (LA Times)

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