Chris Walla's surprisingly good Field Manual
Well, to my surprise I actually really like Chris Walla's (the guitarist from Death Cab for Cutie) new solo album 'Field Manuel'. When it was released I heard a few not so pleasant reviews. Most common among them: 'he's trying to be Ben Gibbard and failing'. And it's true to a degree, the album has the same pop aesthetic as Death Cab and you can definitely here echo's of Walla's contributions to the band in this work. To say it fails though? Well, I would disagree. I can't say I've bought an album I so thoroughly enjoyed as much as this one in a good year or so. I also find Walla's voice very catchy and listenable, perhaps even more so than Gibbards. Notable tracks include Geometry &C, Everybody On, Our Plans Collapsing and the single Sing Again, just to name a few.