IF melancholia had a voice, it would sound like Ben Gibbard. The Death Cab for Cutie front-man has taken the art of writing about ‘hopeless loveless-ness’ to new heights of poignancy. If you thought their 2005 release Plans was dark, wait till you’ve heard this.

Just before the album released, there was news flying around of Death Cab recording something that would be unlike anything they’ve ever done before. The new album was labeled a big risk even before it released—it could win them many new fans; on the other hand, it could lose them their existing fan base. So when you listen to Narrow Stairs, you know that the gamble has paid off. While the lyrics have gotten a lot darker, the music, not as radio-friendly as Plans, has also gained a sort of dissonance that goes well with what the band is singing about. The theme continues to be one of failed relationships and dead-end lives but the prospects look bleaker. While Plans held out hopes for possibilities in the future with Gibbard singing about opening his arms wide and spanning Manhattan, Stairs holds out no such reprieve. In fact, one of the songs in the collection, No Sunlight, talks about dark clouds blotting out the sun—in effect, the end of optimism.

There are quite a few disquieting moments here. Grapevine Fires talks about a man taking his lover and her daughter to a graveyard to watch the California forest fires raging. As they watch the girl dance among the graves, he sings about knowing that they’ll be alright. The bid to hold on to something dear amidst chaos sounds desperate but there’s something so sweet about Gibbard’s voice when he says, “I couldn’t think of anywhere I would’ve rather been / to watch it all burn away.”

The most played-song on the album I Will Possess Your Heart is a love letter from a stalker— creepy, but even as the idea nauseates you, can’t help but attach romantic notion to such obsessive love. Talking Bird has a man talking about his lover with equal amounts of love and loathing. The only letdown is the last track: The Ice Is Getting Thinner, with Gibbard playing with the overused metaphors of ice and snow for dying love.