Listening to Benjamin Gibbard and Andrew Kenny’s original 2003 split EP, now re-released on vinyl, really does make you feel at home. Not only will it open up the heart of any lost ex-teenager whose Death Cab heart has been gathering dust for fifteen years, but the eight tracks will carry you peacefully into contemplation. Kenny and Gibbard’s vocals paint a picture full of turn of the millennium world-weariness, yet can be translated timelessly into the present: the first half from the Death Cab For Cutie frontman is not only true to their indie signature, but also interprets what bands like The Trouble With Templeton or Beirut translated into 2010s language. On »Hometown Fantasy«, Andrew Kenny paints a dark counterpoint to Gibbard’s happy melancholy. This may have something to do with Kenny’s sonorous, almost whispering voice, which is capable of turning any heartache into a torrent of tears. The guitar accompaniment, in contrast, strums its anguish into the strings so brokenly that you could almost think Bright Eyes had taken guitar lessons from Kenny. Despite all the underlying sadness, »Home« is still a very cosy EP twenty years later and fits in perfectly with the Christmas season: festive melancholy at the touch of a button!
Spirit Fest
Bear In Town
Morr Music