Death Cab's Ben Gibbard aims for heart with new song

Atlantic Records, please, please do not mess this up: Ben Gibbard has written a remarkable, perhaps even perfect pop song. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" is not only better than any song Gibbard has written, it's better than any song most people have written (notable exceptions: Dylan, Bob; Shakur, Tupac; Hooker, John Lee).

Gentle Ben, Seattle's fast-rising musical star, unveiled the Death Cab for Cutie song Friday afternoon at Experience Music Project's JBL Theater. He was helping his former label, Bellingham-born, Seattle-raised Barsuk Records, which put on a showcase for members of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores.

A few invited guests also had the opportunity to see a sort of "Barsuk Unplugged," as Gibbard, Nada Surf's Matthew Caws, the Long Winters' John Roderick, John Vanderslice and Jesse Sykes sang three songs each, accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar.

Sykes, usually backed by a powerhouse band called the Sweet Hereafter, was pretty sweet by herself. The raven-haired, Poe-esque Fremont resident was an odd, pleasing combination of intense and humble. "It's such an honor being up here with these guys," she said, avoiding eye contact with an audience of about 250. "It's pretty mind-blowing, actually — it's like being in a dream."

And then she went on to be mind-blowing and dreamlike herself, with dark, mysterious songs that seemed to bounce back and forth between the will and the unconscious. She has been touring quite a bit since the release of "Oh, My Girl," and is to begin recording again soon.

The slight, quirky San Franciscan Vanderslice fused gallows humor and romance ("the only thing standing/between me and that long rope/over a carpenter's beam/is you ... "). Seattle's Roderick, sporting a burly beard, played class clown ("Here's a song about being in a coma") and sang with surprising clarity and power. Caws, looking like a cast member from "Baywatch: The Next Generation" sang with a pitch-perfect, radio-friendly voice. He had the hit "Popular" seven years ago; Caws' recent Barsuk work will likely keep him from "one-hit wonder" status.

Speaking of hits, Sub Pop recently announced that the Postal Service — a Gibbard electro-pop side project — album "Give Up" has been certified as "gold," following Nirvana's "Bleach" as the second Sub Pop album to go over 500,000 in sales.

A week after performing with his Death Cab mates on TV's "The O.C.," Gibbard insisted he was nervous, waiting his turn (the performers' chairs were in a straight line on stage) to perform. Then, after a softly spoken "This is going to be on our new record," he launched a beautiful, highly potent work:

Love of mine

I will follow you into the dark ...

Move over, Clapton's "Tears in Heaven." What makes Gibbard's song all the more powerful and challenging is that it doesn't ride the smooth, "we'll be together in Paradise" cliché, it takes an off-road route, frightening but courageous.

Gibbard later sang another new song, which he said "didn't make the new record." Indeed, this one sounded like it would be more at home on "Transatlanticism," the last Barsuk release. For his third song, he chose "Title and Registration" (one of two songs his band played on "The O.C.").

Tentatively titled "Plans," the new Death Cab for Cutie album will be released by Atlantic Records in September. Gibbard said the band has finished the recording work, though bass player/producer Chris Walla has another grueling month of post-production work.

Death Cab will be part of the July 23-24 Lollapalooza festival (the Pixies, Weezer, Cake, etc.) in Chicago. And on Aug. 18, Death Cab will headline a show in Central Park (other headliners over the summer series: Modest Mouse, the Killers, David Byrne, Dinosaur Jr., Lyle Lovett, Elvis Costello).

A couple of other acts from Seattle making national gains played around Capitol Hill on Friday night. At the Century Ballroom, Omar Torrez — who moved to Los Angeles three years ago — returned home to play flamenco guitar and pop before an adoring audience. Torrez's "Señorita" is on the soundtrack of the Warren Miller movie "Impact," and his music has made cameos on a few TV shows ("Whoopi," "Felicity").

A block away from where Torrez was inspiring salsa dancers, the Lashes were playing at Neumo's. This Seattle six-piece band played local hits like "Death By Mixtape," and new stuff from a Columbia Records debut scheduled for a summer release. A young (all-ages show) audience jumped and yelled with extra energy, as cameras were filming for Lashes' music videos.

tscanlon@seattletimes.com

Information in this story, originally published May 3, 2005, has been corrected. A previous version of this story incorrectly identified a Death Cab for Cutie song as "License and Registration." The correct title is "Title and Registration."