The Photo Album is the third studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released October 9, 2001 on Barsuk Records. Produced by band member Chris Walla, it is the band's only full-length album to feature drummer Michael Schorr.
The albums spawned three singles: "A Movie Script Ending", "I Was a Kaleidoscope", and "We Laugh Indoors". All of the singles charted on the UK Singles Chart, with the highest-charting song "I Was a Kaleidoscope" peaking at number 115. The Photo Album was the first Death Cab for Cutie album to feature charting songs, with "A Movie Script Ending" also becoming the first of three songs by the band to eventually feature on the television show The O.C..
A limited edition extended play called The Stability EP was released in early 2002, containing bonus tracks from the limited edition and Japanese versions of The Photo Album.
To celebrate the album's 20th anniversary, a deluxe edition was released 20 days after the 20th anniversary, on October 29, 2021. This edition contains demos of the original release's 10 tracks and demos of "20th Century Towers" and "Stable Song", plus other unreleased material such as live recordings and studio outtakes.
Reception
The Photo Album holds a score of 75 out of 100 from the review aggregating site Metacritic based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Mojo wrote that the band "weave together smartly taut guitars with vivid observational lyrics to create perfectly crafted pop songs, stunning in their simplicity and beauty", while Alternative Press called the album "the skillful meshing of Benjamin Gibbard's part-stream-of-consciousness, part-confessional vocals with melancholy piano and achingly melodic guitars that reveal a fleshed-out Cutie are indeed a band of uncommon beauty." Drawer B gave it a positive review and stated, "The most noteworthy aspect of The Photo Album is the band's upward trajectory. The music is cohesive and even, though still somewhat sluggish."
In a mixed assessment, Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club wrote that the album "is often marked by pleasant but static, middle-of-the-road material." Melanie Haupt of The Austin Chronicle said, "It's a rare talent that can express such emotions so concisely; even more rare is the ability to deliver them in a near-whisper rather than a scream."
Track listing
Personnel
Death Cab for Cutie
- Ben Gibbard – vocals, guitar, piano, organ
- Nick Harmer – bass guitar, organ
- Michael Schorr – drums, tambourine, shaker, loops
- Chris Walla – guitar, piano, loops
Additional personnel
- Sean Nelson – high vocals on "Blacking Out the Friction", harmony vocals on "I Was a Kaleidoscope"
- Jeff Saltzman – mastering
- John Vanderslice – low vocals on "Blacking Out the Friction", backing vocals on "I Was a Kaleidoscope"