Vitals

Death Cab for Cutie
Barsuk Record
bark28
2002

Info

You Can Play These Songs with Chords + 10 is the fourth album by indie pop sweethearts Death Cab for Cutie. The more completist DCFC fans will recognize the first part of this album's title, "You Can Play These Songs with Chords" - the title of DCFC's self-released album/demo tape (later picked up by the tiny Elsinor Records). It contains the original recordings of much of the material on their debut LP Something About Airplanes, as well as several other songs that did not make the cut: Hindsight, That's Incentive, and Two Cars. You Can Play These Songs with Chords + 10 marks the first release of these songs on CD (it was originally distributed on cassette). The "+ 10" refers to the rest of the album, which is full of b-sides, tracks from EPs, and other unreleased goodies, such as an excellent cover of The Smiths' "This Charming Man", and Hey Tomcat, a fun example of what can be accomplished with tape-loops.

As the reviews have pointed out, the difference between the songs as they appear on Chords and Airplanes is not terribly interesting. However, the songs not appearing on Airplanes and the ten extra tracks make the album worth listening too for the casual DCFC fan as well as the die-hard completist record collector. The bonus tracks tend to show off more of Death Cab for Cutie's fun, upbeat side, which is rarely seen except live, and that alone makes the album worth buying.

Track List

1. President of What? - 4:06
2. Champagne from a Paper Cup - 2:34
3. Pictures in an Exhibition - 4:02
4. Hindsight - 3:47
5. That's Incentive - 2:13
6. Amputations - 4:03
7. Two Cars - 3:31
8. Line of Best Fit - 5:49



9. This Charming Man - 2:14
10. TV Trays - 4:02
11. New Candles - 3:02
12. Tomorrow - 2:17
13. Flustered/Hey Tomcat! - 2:56
14. State Street Residential - 5:51
15. Wait - 3:34
16. Prove My Hypotheses - 4:11
17. Song for Kelly Huckaby - 3:51
18. Army Corps of Architects - 4:43