Thank You for Today

Thank You for Today
Clouds seen in a circle with the album's title written inside of it.
Studio album by
Death Cab for Cutie
ReleasedAugust 17, 2018
StudioSanta Monica, California
Genre
Length38:30
LabelAtlantic
ProducerRich Costey
Death Cab for Cutie chronology
Kintsugi
(2015) 		Thank You for Today
(2018) 		The Blue EP
(2019)
Singles from Thank You for Today
  1. "Gold Rush"
    Released: June 13, 2018
  2. "I Dreamt We Spoke Again"
    Released: July 19, 2018
  3. "Autumn Love"
    Released: August 1, 2018

Thank You for Today is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. The album was released on August 17, 2018, on Atlantic Records.

Production and release

[edit]

The album was produced by Rich Costey, who returns after collaborating with the band on their eighth album, Kintsugi. It is the first Death Cab for Cutie release not to feature Chris Walla since the band's first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords. The album also marks the first time guitarist/keyboardists Dave Depper and Zac Rae have appeared on a Death Cab for Cutie album, after making their debut recording with the band on the 2016 single "Million Dollar Loan".[citation needed]

The album was announced on June 13, 2018, along with the release of its first single, "Gold Rush".[1] The band also announced a tour to support the album's release, beginning in fall 2018.[2] Two further singles were released from the album prior to its release: "I Dreamt We Spoke Again" and "Autumn Love". On August 13, the album was streamed in full on NPR Music's website.[3] "Gold Rush" was also included in the EA Sports video game FIFA 19.[4]

The album is dedicated to the memory of Scott Hutchison, frontman for the Scottish folk rock band Frightened Rabbit, who died in May 2018.[5] Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard was a friend of Hutchison and an admirer of his songwriting, and the two bands had toured together in 2008.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[7]
Metacritic69/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The A.V. ClubB−[10]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[11]
The Guardian[12]
The Independent[13]
NME[14]
Pitchfork6.0/10[15]
Q[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Uncut7/10[18]

Thank You for Today currently holds a Metacritic score of 69, indicating generally favorable reviews.[8] Madison Desler of Paste Magazine praised the album, describing it as "a fresh take on Death Cab's familiar sound" and "another fine stop in Death Cab's ongoing evolution."[19] The Guardian's Michael Hann was also positive in his four-star review, noting: "The melodies are gorgeous, never overdone but always foregrounded: you would get almost nothing from the individual elements, from the bass, the guitar, the keyboards and the voice, but they add up to much more than the sum of their parts."[12]

Other reviews were more mixed in their reception, such as Pitchfork's Larry Fitzmaurice. His review acknowledged that while Thank You for Today was "the strongest Death Cab album of the 2010s," he also described that title as "a dubious achievement" and noted "there’s moments that suggest Gibbard and the rest of Death Cab are still struggling through the beige malaise that has cast a pall over their more recent work."[15] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Joseph Longo described Thank You for Today as the band's "midlife crisis record," adding: "...what once exuded cathartic melancholia has now matured into overwrought melodrama."[11]

In a negative review of the album, Tyler Clark from Consequence of Sound criticised the production and the songwriting on the album. Noting that the album is Gibbard's first since he turned 40, Clark says that "without the will or ability to eschew generalities for details, he leaves his anti-gentrification songs undercooked and his middle-aged musings feeling perfunctory and safe."[20]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics written by Ben Gibbard.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."I Dreamt We Spoke Again"Ben Gibbard3:04
2."Summer Years"Gibbard, Jason McGerr4:28
3."Gold Rush"Gibbard, Dave Depper, Yoko Ono4:00
4."Your Hurricane"Gibbard3:18
5."When We Drive"Gibbard3:49
6."Autumn Love"Gibbard4:18
7."Northern Lights"Gibbard3:56
8."You Moved Away"Gibbard3:49
9."Near/Far"Gibbard3:41
10."60 & Punk"Gibbard4:07
Total length:38:30
Japanese bonus track[21]
No.TitleLength
11."Autumn Love" (Demo Version)7:45
Total length:46:23

Personnel

[edit]

Death Cab for Cutie

  • Benjamin Gibbard – lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, samples
  • Nick Harmer – bass, backing vocals on "Gold Rush"
  • Jason McGerr – drums, percussion, programming
  • Dave Depper – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Zac Rae – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals on "Gold Rush"

Additional personnel

  • Lauren Mayberry – additional vocals on "Northern Lights"
  • Rich Costey – production

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 44
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 62
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 53
Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 57
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 140
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 14
Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 24
US Billboard 200[35] 13

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Blistein, Jon (June 13, 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie Preview New Album With Simmering 'Gold Rush'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Griffin, Noemi (June 13, 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie Preview New Album with First Single "Gold Rush": Listen". Paste Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Thompson, Stephen. "First Listen: Death Cab For Cutie, 'Thank You For Today'". NPR Music. National Public Radio. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "FIFA 19 Soundtrack, featuring Childish Gambino, Gorillaz, Logic, and More". Electronic Arts. August 31, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie Cover Frightened Rabbit's "My Backwards Walk"". www.kexp.org. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Death Cab For Cutie Pay Tribute to Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison with Cover of "My Backwards Walk"". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Thank You for Today by Death Cab For Cutie reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thank You for Today – Death Cab for Cutie". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  10. ^ McLevy, Alex (August 17, 2018). "Death Cab For Cutie, Thank You For Today". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Longo, Joseph (August 17, 2018). "Thank You for Today is Death Cab for Cutie's midlife crisis record". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Hann, Michael (17 August 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today review – comforting alt-rock melancholia". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  13. ^ Beaumont, Mark; Bray, Elisa (August 16, 2018). "Album reviews: Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You For Today; Animal Collective – Tangerine Reef". The Independent. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  14. ^ Connick, Tom (August 17, 2018). "Death Cab For Cutie – 'Thank You For Today' review". NME. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Fitzmaurice, Larry (August 20, 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  16. ^ Everley, Dave (September 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today". Q (389): 110.
  17. ^ Grow, Kory (August 17, 2018). "Review: Death Cab For Cutie Get Reborn on 'Thank You For Today'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  18. ^ Anderson, Jason (October 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today". Uncut (257): 27.
  19. ^ Desler, Madison. "Death Cab For Cutie: Thank You For Today Review". Paste Magazine. Paste Media Group. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  20. ^ Clark, Tyler (15 August 2018). "Death Cab for Cutie Fall Flat on Thank You for Today". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Death Cab For Cutie / デス・キャブ・フォー・キューティー「Thank You for Today / サンキュー・フォー・トゥデイ」 | Warner Music Japan". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  22. ^ "ARIA Chart Watch #487". auspOp. August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You for Today" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You for Today" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  25. ^ "Ariana Grande's 'Sweetener' Sours Travis Scott's Success". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You for Today" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You for Today" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  28. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 24 August 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  29. ^ "Death Cab For Cutie". Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  31. ^ "Veckolista Vinyl, vecka 34, 2018". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 34: del 17.8.2018 al 23.8.2018" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Thank You for Today". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  35. ^ "Death Cab for Cutie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
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