October 16-22, 2003

musicpicks

Death Cab for Cutie/Mates of State

Rock/pop

Few songwriters write so evocatively that just a lyric sheet can burn an indelible image. And few singers emote so deftly as to render innocuous lines heartbreaking. Yet Ben Gibbard can do both, which goes a long way toward explaining Death Cab for Cutie's surge in popularity over the last couple of years (and subsequent namecheck on The O.C. ). On the band's latest, Transatlanticism (Barsuk), Gibbard sings, The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse, invoking a sliding-board-as-relationship metaphor. Then he turns I've got a hunger, twisting my stomach into knots -- a throwaway line in lesser lungs -- into the most painful thing you've heard all week. That Gibbard's been a busy guy (he squeezed in the surprise-hit side project The Postal Service over the summer) has only sharpened his songwriting. Warming up is Mates of State, the deliciously cheeky husband-and-wife/drums-and-keyboard duo of Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner. Their brand-new Team Boo (Polyvinyl) ups the ante on their singular, angular, love-at-the-top-of-our-lungs aesthetic.

Tue., Oct. 21, 7 p.m., $12-$14, The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE.

—Brian Howard