Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘Transatlanticism’ Turns 10 Years Old

October 7th, 2013

Brian Leak

With each passing 10-year anniversary of an album I cherished in high school, I feel old as Hell. Many albums that were staples of my teenage listening habits have turned 10 this year, celebrated with reunion tours and special edition vinyl releases, both of which have had fanatics and blogs in a frenzy for the entirety of 2013.

Hands down, one of the best albums released in 2003 was Death Cab For Cutie’s last indie label release, Transatlanticism (Barsuk Records). Unbeknownst to some, it was their fourth studio album but Transatlanticism was the band’s first effort that truly began their much-deserved ascent into the mainstream (Plans-era Grammy nods, festival headline spots, Ben Gibbard’s celebrity, etc.) with help from its beloved singles, “Title And Registration” and “The Sound Of Settling.” The most compelling and masterful song featured to me though has to be the album’s title track. Clocking in just shy of 8 minutes, “Transatlanticism” is an epic in the annals of pop rock. This song is easily one of the best in the DCFC catalog and also served as the backbone to one of the most heartfelt and notorious scenes in HBO’s popular series, Six Feet Under. It gives me chills every time.

Upon its release, Transatlanticism charted at 97 on the Billboard 200 and has since been certified Gold by the RIAA for shipping out 500,000 copies. That was in 2008, so you can imagine how far along it may be now. NPR also claims it to be one of the fifty most important recordings of that decade. Not too shabby.

Get in the spirit of nostalgia and celebration and stream the entirety of this Death Cab classic in honor of its anniversary after the jump.