Asphalt Meadows is Death Cab for Cuties most consistent album in over a decade. The Seattle bands 10th record borrows from the whole gamut of their oeuvre.

For the most part, Death Cab for Cuties music falls into one of two camps: the scrappy, Pacific Northwest indie of their early days or the radio-ready, arena-adjacent hits of their later years. The middle point between these two poles is 2003s Transatlanticism, a masterpiece that helped Death Cab transition from the winsome simplicity of The Photo Album into the chart-topping sounds of Plans.

The groups 10th album, Asphalt Meadows, blends these two modes of operation in a career-spanning feat. For such an established band over two decades into their career, its an impressive achievement, and its part of what makes Asphalt Meadows their