Growing disillusioned about Los Angeles is one of the great themes of rock 'n' roll. “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Celluloid Heroes,” “L.A. Woman,” “Desperados Under the Eaves”: The list of records about the dashed allure of this town is a genre all its own.
To that, we can add “Kintsugi,” the eighth album from the Seattle band Death Cab for Cutie.
Death Cab is a defining success story for the early 2000s indie wave, one that reshaped commercial rock. At Death Cab’s headlining show at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night (with punky charmer Mikal Cronin and tribal-noise experimentalists tUnE-yArDs opening), they proved that they’re still among the most creative, affecting guitar bands performing at their level.