Death Cab for Cutie are having quite a time this summer. Not only did they play at Lollapalooza this past weekend, they’re also rolling out great new releases. The Washington natives feature on Chance the Rapper‘s latest album The Big Day on “Do You Remember.” The band even brought Chance out during their Lolla set to show off the crossover live.
The alt-rock band isn’t all about a lighthearted summer, however. Their new single “Kids in ‘99” is a high energy account of a devastating explosion that occurred in their hometown, Bellingham. On June 10, 1999, a gas pipeline operated by the Olympic Pipeline Company exploded, killing three children and injuring eight others. The song is a tribute to those three children who died that day at Whatcom Creek.
Lead singer Ben Gibbard never fails to tell a vivid story with his folktale-like lyricism and “Kids in ‘99” is no exception. “In the waters where we used to swim / Where we thought we would be young forever,” Gibbard reminisces. “The beads that glistened on your sunburnt skin / Evaporated in the flames and embers.”
Gibbard remembers the day: “The Olympic Pipeline explosion in 1999 was a tragedy that really affected me while we were living in Bellingham. After all these years I felt it was worthy of its own folk song.”
The track off of their upcoming Blue EP has a somber yet high energy to it. Gibbard recounts the event while the drums continuously roll behind him.
The ever-moving guitar line creates a small sense of tension as the song moves along. The instrumental breaks between verses, giving off the stress of waiting for news. It makes you feel the memories of this small-town catastrophe, what could have been and instead how it’s just “Gone… Gone.”
The new EP from the band comes out September 6; in the meantime, check out “Kids of ‘99” below.
Featured Image: Instagram (@deathcabforcutie)
