Reviews:

As catchy as the songs on The Photo Album may be, though, it's really front man Benjamin Gibbard's comfort with laying his emotional issues bare that makes this an excellent album. "Styrofoam Plates" is the most stunning track, with words that leave chills long after they've disappeared. As Gibbard sings about anger for a dead father ("It's not quite a stretch to say you were not quite a father / But a donor of seeds to a poor single mother / That would raise us alone / We never saw the money / It went down your throat down the hole in your belly"), his stark honesty makes this dysfunctional family story the most compelling piece of this album. The other issues of clumsy relationships pale a little in comparison, but The Photo Album still leaves little doubt that Death Cab deserve all the indie rock accolades they have received