There's something fishy about quickly putting out an EP fresh on the heels of a full-length release. Bands that take this route could have shifty intentions. Perhaps their CD didn't sell as well as they'd hoped and are trying to recoup some of their recording expenses by rushing out a slapped-together release of leftovers from the album's sessions. Or they're just overly productive, tossing out an EP's worth of material to show just how hard-working they are. But neither is the case for Death Cab for Cutie's newest addition to their discography, The Open Door EP, a five-track release made up of four previously unreleased songs and a demo of an album cut.



Following the '08 release of their sophomore album Narrow Stairs, Death Cab for Cutie has just released The Open Door EP, but it isn't for the reasons that normally drive post-album EP releases. The band claims that these four songs (and the demo, lest we forget) didn't necessarily fit in with the overalls ound of Narrow Stairs, and they couldn't be more right. This quartet of tunes are jubilant and mercilessly optimistic, a far cry from the melancholy emotional space that Narrow Stairs was based. Instead, lead singer Ben Gibbard sings with an open throat over these bouncing compositions, providing listeners with a jovial alternative to the sadness that loomed over Stairs.

Death Cab might be happier on these tracks, but the buoyancy doesn't necessarily grip you in the same way that the tunes on Narrow Stairs may have done with their glumness. "Little Bribes" blasts off The Open Door EP with jangling acoustic guitars that slink along a blues chord progression, adding in various instruments (electric guitars, harmonizing vocal lines, echoing piano chords) as the song plays through. But the growing tango line of instruments doesn't compensate for the song's vanilla template, and as the song unfolds over almost three bland minutes, nothing helps to give it much personality. Same goes for "A Diamond and a Tether," a mid-tempo romp that plays like a regression for a band that's become synonymous with originality over the past few years.



"My Mirror Speaks" comes in the middle of The Open Door EP, which is a welcome relief. As the EP's high point, the song pounds with a fervency and red-cheeked liveliness that's unfounded on the bite-sized effort's other tunes. Handclaps and crash cymbals stomp underneath Ben's falsetto coos, strung together by an ebullient melody that's both hopeful and uplifting. But soon, it's back to the mundane with "I Was Once a Loyal Lover," a punk-lite tune that falls flat with its spindly electric guitar lines (it doesn’t sound like much thought was put into the construction of this song, which is never a good thing for a band as established and critically heralded as this band).

The final song on the EP, a demo version of "Talking Bird," is the only song that's truly intriguing. As a sunnier alternative to the sagging version that graced Narrow Stairs, this take on the tune showcases the band's emotional versatility, able to create two expressive masks for the same song. It's this fleeting moment of creativity that underlines this band's musical abilities, making The Open Door EP a bit more valuable than it appears on the surface. But from a critical vantage point, this EP does little more than offer a brief yet unappetizing alternative to the band's last full-length, a sneeze on Death Cab's radar in their relatively consistent career.