Kintsugi (album)

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Kintsugi
Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi.jpg
Studio album by Death Cab for Cutie
Released March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)
Recorded 2014
Genre
Length 45:00
Label
Producer Rich Costey
Death Cab for Cutie chronology
Codes and Keys
(2011)		 Kintsugi
(2015)		 Thank You for Today
(2018)
Singles from Kintsugi (album)

Kintsugi is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on March 31, 2015, on Atlantic Records. Recorded at Eldorado Recording Studios, in Burbank, California, Kintsugi is produced by Rich Costey, and is the first Death Cab for Cutie album to feature an outside producer. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.[1]

During the production of the album, lead guitarist and founding member Chris Walla announced that he was leaving the band, though he continued contributing to the recording and creative process as a full member until the album's completion.[2]

Production

The band first hinted that they were working on a follow-up to 2011's Codes and Keys by posting several photos of their studio and recording equipment to Instagram in October 2013.[3][4] In October 2014, the band spoke to Stereogum about their then-untitled eighth album, their experience working with an outside producer, and Walla's departure.[5]

The album title is derived from kintsugi, a type of Japanese art involving fixing broken pottery, and as a philosophy of treating breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

Release

The album's title, track listing, and artwork were revealed via social media on January 12, 2015, with the song "Black Sun" to be released as the lead single from the album.[6] The songs "Black Sun", "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive", and "No Room in Frame", received their live debut during a performance at The Crocodile in Seattle on January 20, 2015, two months prior to the album's release. Black Sun was officially released on January 26, 2015, following several weeks of snippets of lyrics being posted on various social media sites and the official website.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 67/100[8]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars[9]
The A.V. Club B+[10]
Chicago Tribune 3/4 stars[11]
Entertainment Weekly B−[12]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[13]
Mojo 3/5 stars[14]
Pitchfork 5.5/10[15]
Q 3/5 stars[16]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[17]
Spin 6/10[18]

Kintsugi has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating determined by a "weighted average" of reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 67 out of 100, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[8]

In a three and a half out of five star review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic claims: "Most of Kintsugi shimmers upon a gloss constructed out of new wave remnants and faded memories of yacht rock."[9] Writing for Consequence of Sound and giving the album a "C−" rating, Philip Cosores states: "There are moments of radio-ready bliss, a few songs with lyrics that slowly become affecting, a handful of forgettable diversions, and some expected trite, misguided nonsense."[19] Lanre Bakare of The Guardian gave the album three stars out of five and writes: "Sometimes it’s too overwrought and wanders into clichéd territory."[13] Writing for Exclaim!, James Smith felt that "Kintsugi...is a return to form for the band," citing an extra dimension added by blending "lush arrangements...with electronic flourishes" though "the band takes these new elements too far, with underwhelming results."[20]

Accolades

Year Association Category Result
2016 Grammy Awards[1] Best Rock Album Nominated

Track listing

All songs written by Benjamin Gibbard, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "No Room in Frame"   4:05
2. "Black Sun"   4:49
3. "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"   4:04
4. "Little Wanderer"   4:19
5. "You've Haunted Me All My Life"   4:08
6. "Hold No Guns"   3:03
7. "Everything's a Ceiling"   3:41
8. "Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)"   4:47
9. "El Dorado"   3:38
10. "Ingénue"   4:31
11. "Binary Sea"   4:05
Total length:
 45:00

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic:[21]

Death Cab for Cutie

Production

Commercial performance

Kintsugi debuted at No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week. It's the fourth Death Cab for Cutie album to enter the Billboard 200's top 10.[22] In Canada, the album debuted at No. 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 4,800 copies.[23]

Charts

Release history

Source: Amazon.com[38]

Region Date Format(s) Label
United States March 31, 2015
Atlantic

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Death Cab for Cutie. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2015. 14. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Death Cab for Cutie. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Death Cab for Cutie. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Death Cab for Cutie – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Death Cab for Cutie. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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