CHRIS WALLA
Field Manual
(Barsuk-2008)
At this point it’s been pretty well covered that Death Cab for Cutie guitarist/keyboardist Chris Walla is an in-demand indie rock producer, as his numerous credits—which include Spoon, Nada Surf and his own band—will attest to. Some may also know Walla by his Martin Youth Auxiliary moniker, under which he's been issuing limited solo releases. But on his first album under his own name he doesn’t stray from the work of DCFC and that's mighty fine by us. In fact, some of the tracks herein—“Geometry &c.” and “St. Modesto”—sound like that band’s vocalist, Ben Gibbard, might pop in at any moment. (Gibbard is the better singer of the two, otherwise The Post Office would surely be more of a pressing concern for him.)
Regardless of what his influences are and/or where his comfort zone may reside, Walla can definitely write hooks: rockers “The Score” and the aforementioned “Geometry &c.” recall at times Jason Falkner at his best. (Incidentally, the latter track has a keyboard line quite reminiscent of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven".) And that, is what is at the heart of this record. Obviously, it's a given that since this album was made by an artist who moonlights as a producer, a lot of the attention to sonic detail he brings to other people’s records would be front and center on Field Manual, but what good is great production if you’ve got mediocre songs? Not much. Walla avoids that trap by bringing to the table a solid batch of tunes that clearly demonstrate he could do pretty well if he ever found himself without his main day job.
Speaking of which, if like us, you felt the overabundance of samey, wispy ballads on DCFC’s Plans kinda let you down, Field Manual will make you wonder why they didn’t release this in its place.
Highlights: "The Score", "Geometry &c", "Our Plans, Collapsing", "St. Modesto".
