Concrete Playground

Indie rock success story Death Cab for Cutie have released what’s arguably their most ambitious record yet since they last visited Australia in 2009. Codes and Keys is the seventh album from the small-time solo project-turned-Grammy award nominated four-piece, and is proof that they haven’t let the hype get to their heads.

While some bands tend to play it safe after moving from bedroom-recorded cassettes to big shiny studios, Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr have used each studio session as an opportunity to explore a new sound. Which is a good thing for Codes and Keys, since it was recorded in eight different studios over its sporadic fabrication.

Still containing plenty of warm indie fuzzies, their most recent sound is less reliant on guitars and meditations on failed relationships and more focused on layering different sounds. It’s uncertain whether that’s a direct result of Gibbard’s split from Manic Pixie Dream Girl Zooey Deschanel or whether the band is just growing up, but it does mean loyal fans will find something satisfyingly fresh (and also that Gibbard is officially single).

On Friday they're playing at The Enmore Theatre with our own Dappled Cities, which means this will sell out. Oh wait, it already has — get tickets for the second Saturday show here.