FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 23, 2015
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE REVEAL “KINTSUGI” IN FULL;
ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM PREMIERES TODAY ON NPR: FIRST LISTEN
IN ADVANCE OFMARCH 31stRELEASE;
BAND TO DO VERY SPECIAL LIVE IN STORE PERFORMANCE
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A DECADE AT LOS ANGELES’
AMOEBA MUSIC, HOLLYWOOD ON RELEASE DAY
HIGH PROFILE TV PERFORMANCES SLATED INCLUDING
ABC’S JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! ON APRIL 1ST
AND CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY ON APRIL 4TH;
Atlantic recording group Death Cab for Cutie is gearing up for next week’s release of their keenly anticipated eighth studio album. “KINTSUGI” is available for pre-order now on the iTunes Store; the album arrives everywhere on March 31st.
“KINTSUGI” has just had its official world premiere and is streaming now in its entirety, exclusively via NPR First Listen: The album features the new hit single, “Black Sun,” currently the #1 song at Triple A radio outlets nationwide as well as a Top 10 favorite at Modern Rock. In addition, the “Black Sun” companion video – directed by Robert Hales (Jack White, Tame Impala, Gnarls Barkley) – is streaming now at Death Cab for Cutie’s official YouTube channel,
Other highlights include such tracks as “No Room In Frame,” “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive,” and “Little Wanderer” – all available now at the iTunes Store as instant grat tracks with “KINTSUGI” pre-orders: Lyric videos for all three songs are streaming now at
Early critical acclaim has greeted “KINTSUGI” as a whole, with Stereogum praising it in a recent Cover Story as “inevitably elegiac…full of classic Death Cab structures and melodies, but with new little elements that still sets it apart. Synths and a rhythmic focus play a large role, but feel incorporated seamlessly into the band’s pre-existing aesthetic...” Whilethe New York Observer hailed,“The band continues its penchant for thoughtful poetic confessionals; the music flows like a well-written novel, telling the group’s latest-chapter beautifully.”
Death Cab for Cutie will continue to launch “KINTSUGI” with a series of upcoming TV appearances, including an outdoor concert performance of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!On April 1stand a visit to CBS This Morning: Saturday on April 4th (check local listings). The band will also celebrate the album’s release with a very special live in store performance,for the first time in over a decade, at Los Angeles’ Amoeba Music, Hollywood on March 31st at 6pm. Fans who purchase “KINTSUGI” starting on 3/31 will receive pre-signed album artwork and guaranteed admission to the live in-store performance.
In other news, Death Cab for Cutie is set to embark on their hugely anticipated North American headline tour, kicking off Friday, April 10th in Mesa, Arizona and then travelling through the fall (see attached itinerary). Highlights include sold out dates at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on 29th, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre on April 30th and May 1st, andToronto’s Sony Centre For The Performing Arts on May 7th, as well as major shows including Hollywood’s Hollywood Bowl on July 12th, Morrison, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on July 15th, and New York City’s Madison Square Garden on September 12th.
The tour – which also sees European festival dates and headline shows including three sold out nights at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – concludes October 3rd, 4th, and 5th with three sold-out homecoming shows at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. Support on the tour comes from an array of special guests, including Say Hi, The Antlers, Built To Spill, TUnE-YArDs, and Explosions In The Sky. For complete details and ticket information, please log on to
The upcoming trek will see Death Cab for Cutie’s core membership of singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Jason McGerr augmented by new touring members Dave Depper (Menomena, Fruit Bats, Corin Tucker, Ray Lamontagne) and Zac Rae (My Brightest Diamond, Fiona Apple, Lana Del Rey, Gnarls Barkley), both of whom will contribute additional guitars and keyboards. The band began 2015 by playing intimate dates in Brooklyn and Seattle– their first shows since the departure of founding member Chris Walla. “The onstage chemistry between (the) original members…and the new players was surprisingly heartfelt,” raved Seattle Weekly. “The vibe felt as if they had been jamming together for years, and it showed in how beautifully they riffed off of each other during the set’s numerous instrumental solos.”
Recorded in Los Angeles with Rich Costey (Foster the People, Muse, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches) behind the board, “KINTSUGI” takes its title from the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, highlighting cracks rather than hiding them. As such, kintsugi represents a compassionate aesthetic philosophy in which damage and wear are embraced as part of an object’s history.
“Considering what we were going through internally, and with what a lot of the lyrics are about, it had a great deal of resonance for us – the idea of figuring out how to repair breaks and make them a thing of beauty,” says bassist Nick Harmer, who suggested the name to Gibbard and McGerr. “Philosophically, spiritually, emotionally, it seems perfect for this group of songs.”
For nearly two decades, Death Cab for Cutie has been hailed as one of contemporary music’s most compelling and creative collectives. Born in Bellingham, Washington in 1997, the band followed a long relationship with the Seattle-based independent label, Barsuk, by making their Atlantic Records debut with their fifth studio release, 2005’s “PLANS.” The album proved Death Cab for Cutie’s popular breakthrough, earning RIAA platinum certification as well as spawning the chart-topping singles, “Soul Meets Body” and “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.” The latter track was honored with a GRAMMY® nomination as “Best Pop Performance By Duo Or Group With Vocals,” with “PLANS” receiving the nod as “Best Alternative Album.” “DIRECTIONS,” the 2006 DVD companion to “PLANS,” earned an additional GRAMMY® nod as “Best Longform Music Video.”
Now fully affirmed as an era-defining band, Death Cab for Cutie made a stunning #1 debut atop the SoundScan/Billboard 200with 2008’s RIAA gold certified “NARROW STAIRS.” More critical acclaim and two further GRAMMY® nominations followed, including nods for “Best Alternative Album” and “Best Rock Song” (honoring the hit single, “I Will Possess Your Heart”). “THE OPEN DOOR” EP was released in 2009, earning DCfC athirdconsecutive GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Alternative Album.”“CODES AND KEYS” arrived in 2011 and made a top 3 entry on the SoundScan/Billboard 200before receiving the band’s fourth straight GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Alternative Music Album.” “You Are A Tourist,” the album’s first single, also proved a multi-format radio smash, reaching #1 at both Triple A and Modern Rock outlets nationwide – Death Cab for Cutie’s first-ever #1 at the latter format.
For more news and information, please log on to
(TOUR ITINERARY ATTACHED)
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2015
APRIL
10Meza, AZFestivALTAZ @ Quail Run Park
23Kansas City, MOArvest Bank Theatre at The Midland * – SOLD OUT
24Tulsa, OKBrady Theatre (KMYZ Birthday Party)
25Frisco, TXEdgefest
27Atlanta, GAThe Fox Theatre †
29Nashville, TNRyman Auditorium † – SOLD OUT
30Chicago, ILThe Chicago Theatre † – SOLD OUT
MAY
1Chicago, ILThe Chicago Theatre † – SOLD OUT
2Minneapolis, MNCarlson Family Stage at Northrop † – SOLD OUT
4Milwaukee, WIRiverside Theater †
5Detroit, MIFox Theatre
7Toronto, ONSony Centre For the Performing Arts † – SOLD OUT
8Montreal, QCMetropolis Theatre †
9Portland, MEState Theatre † – SOLD OUT
10Camden, NJSusquehanna Bank Center – SOLD OUT
12Louisville, KYIroquois Amphitheater †
13St Louis, MOThe Pageant † – SOLD OUT
JULY
8Portland, ORMcMenamins Edgefield ‡ – SOLD OUT
9Bend, ORLes Schwab Amphitheatre ‡
11Berkeley, CAThe Greek Theatre Berkeley ‡
12Los Angeles, CAHollywood Bowl §
15Morrison, CORed Rocks Amphitheatre §
SEPTEMBER
11Boston, MABlue Hills Bank Pavilion ¶
12New York, NYMadison Square Garden ¶
13Columbia, MDMerriweather Post Pavilion ¶
OCTOBER
3Seattle, WAParamount Theatre –SOLD OUT
4Seattle, WAParamount Theatre –SOLD OUT
5Seattle, WAParamount Theatre
w/Say Hi *
w/The Antlers †
w/Built To Spill ‡
w/TUnE-YArDs §
w/Explosions In The Sky ¶
For more information please contact:
Sheila Richman/Atlantic Records
Ilana Gold/Atlantic Records
212-707-2749