Death Cab For Cutie Announce 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Photo Album Release Demo of “Coney Island”

Wether you think Death Cab for Cutie is an emo band or not, one thing is undebatable, The Photo Album just turned 20. On Ocotber 9, 2001, the band from Bellingham, Washington, released one of their most loved albums. To celebrate the genre defying release, the band announced today the 20th- anniversary deluxe edition of the album. This edition will feature a whopping 35 tracks, which includes some bonus tracks and, according to the press release,  “covers of Björk’s ‘All Is Full of Love’ and The Stone Roses’ ‘I Wanna Be Adored,’ previously unreleased tracks, rarities and UK b-sides which have never been available on digital services and, finally, all of the band’s original demos for the album.”

The  deluxe edition will be available digitally on October 29, later another special edition will be released physically in spring 2022, both via Barsuk Records. The vinyl release will also feature a physical version of the band’s The Stability EP. This version is limited to 5,000 copies.

To offer a first taste of what fans can expect from the reissue, the group shared “Coney Island (Band Demo).” Frontman Ben Gillard, describes the original song as a “a Neil Young-stomp kind of thing.” The thing about demos is, they seldom end up the same way on the album, and this is also the case here. Due to the natural production process the song then was released a little different compared to the demo. “It’s very indicative of the process we were employing at that point, which was to deconstruct something and build it completely back up,” Gibbard says. “In that particular case, it made the song a lot more interesting and gave it a nice flavor and a loneliness that sits well on the album

You can compare the versions below.

Thd difference is quite obvious from the start. The demo is a lot more guitar heavy, utilizing a more classical rock (almost country even) sound than the version on the album. But like Gibbard pointed out, the original has a certain kind of empty sadness, that is not as dominating in the demo.

Last month, the band toured multiple amphitheaters throughout the US. They also live streamed one of their shows from the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO. Their set also included their cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls.”

The Photo Album 20th-Anniversary Deluxe Edition Tracklisting

[The Photo Album]

1. Steadier Footing
2. A Movie Script Ending
3. We Laugh Indoors
4. Information Travels Faster
5. Why You’d Want To Live Here
6. Blacking Out The Friction
7. I Was A Kaleidoscope
8. Styrofoam Plates
9. Coney Island
10. Debate Exposes Doubt

[The Stability E.P.]

11. 20th Century Towers
12. All Is Full Of Love
13. Stability

[Rarities & Unreleased Recordings]

14. Gridlock Caravans
15. Information Travels Faster (Alternate Lyric Demo)
16. I Wanna Be Adored (Live)
17. I Was A Kaleidoscope (Live)
18. We Laugh Indoors (Dub)
19. Debate Exposes Doubt (Acoustic)
20. A Movie Script Ending (Acoustic)
21. I Was A Kaleidoscope (Acoustic, Live on KEXP)
22. Corny Island (Studio Outtake)
23. We Laugh Indoors (UK Single Mix)

[Band Demos]

24. Steadier Footing (Acoustic Studio Outtake)
25. A Movie Script Ending (Band Demo)
26. We Laugh Indoors (Band Demo)
27. Information Travels Faster (Band Demo)
28. Why You’d Want To Live Here (Band Demo)
29. Blacking Out The Friction (Band Demo)
30. I Was A Kaleidoscope (Band Demo)
31. Styrofoam Plates (Band Demo)
32. Coney Island (Band Demo)
33. Debate Exposes Doubt (Band Demo)
34. 20th Century Towers (Band Demo)
35. Stable Song (Band Demo)

photo credit: Alyssa Fried