‘I Built You a Tower’, Death Cab for Cutie’s eleventh studio album (and first on the independent ANTI- Records) found the band going back to basics and working together on the songs – in person – in the studio. The album finds Ben Gibbard trying to find a way forward following the breakdown of his marriage: ‘There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and grief. A place that can hold it so we can move on with our lives. But there are these moments where the trauma breaks out of that shell we created for it.’

Acoustic strums signal the start of album opener ‘Full of Stars’. It’s a song that finds Ben Gibbard pleading for forgiveness from the off – ‘I fear I’ll soon be wishing on an empty sky’ – over subtle piano notes. He then pleads ‘All I need is for you to be kind’. Lead single ‘Punching the Flowers’ follows with angular hooks and chunkier riffs, plus a blast of thunderous drumming. This song finds Ben talking about a man wishing to be swallowed ‘because he’d never been alone’. ‘Pep Talk’ is up next, with Ben doing what the title suggests over chiming guitar work: ‘You gotta pull me back’.

Ben sings of estranged friends, empty spaces and admits ‘What a fool I was to think that I was sane’ on ‘I Built You a Tower (a)’ while ‘Envy the Birds’ has a more dramatic and deeply atmospheric soundtrack to back its poignant words: ‘Speak without words, no one gets hurt’. ‘Stone Over Water’ continues in this personal vein as the lyrics talk about trying to hold it together and get some sleep, while masking to friends you’re ok when you’re really not – all delivered over a Frightened Rabbit-esque backing.

‘How Heavenly a State’ dips into post punk with an immediacy that can’t be ignored – plus a noise-led breakdown, while ‘Trap Door’ might be the most direct insight into Ben’s mind: ‘I give myself to your memory. You can lock me in its cage. Only the winner can write history. There will be nothing on our page’. ‘Riptides’ follows with its more traditional alt-rock sound as Ben ponders how ‘I can’t seem to keep it together anymore’, while ‘The Flavor of Metal’ offers a nostalgic take with memories of fields of green, trampolines and an undeniable truth: ‘Everything that’s sent will come crushing down’.

The record closes with ‘I Built You a Tower (b)’. It’s a brash end dosed in static and almost post-rock elements as Ben laments how tired everything is making him and starts to look ahead: ‘I’m learning how to live without you. These ruminations were all about you’.

Confessional, charming and captivating in equal measure, ‘I Built You a Tower’ encourages you to lend a hand and build strong foundations with both Death Cab and anyone you know who needs support.