During the production of the album, lead guitarist and founding member Chris Walla announced that he was leaving the band, though he continued contributing to the recording and creative process as a full member until the album's completion.[2]
Production
The band first hinted that they were working on a follow-up to 2011's Codes and Keys by posting several photos of their studio and recording equipment to Instagram in October 2013.[3][4] In October 2014, the band spoke to Stereogum about their then-untitled eighth album, their experience working with an outside producer, and Walla's departure.[5]
The album title is derived from kintsugi, a type of Japanese art involving fixing broken pottery, and as a philosophy of treating breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
Composition
On the album, Gibbard returns to an evocative, revealing writing style he had avoided on prior albums,[6] and frequently refers to places versus people: "Culver City, Beverly Drive, "the cliffs of the Palisades" — each serves as a clearly defined setting on an album that looks beyond Gibbard's divorce to ponder the larger systems of power and privilege at work in L.A.," observed writer Mikael Wood. "No Room in Frame" addresses in general terms a decaying love, which widely interpreted as inspired by Gibbard's divorce from actress Zooey Deschanel.[7][8] "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" was written early on,[9] and focuses on Gibbard's time living in Los Angeles. In the song's chorus, Gibbard finds himself "return[ing] to the scene of these crimes, where the hedgerows slowly wind."[10] "Little Wanderer" expresses hope for a love across distance, ending with an embrace in an airport.[11] Walla was reportedly not a fan of the acoustic "Hold No Guns", and suggested it should be withheld from the album, but was overruled.[6]
Gibbard based the celebrity critique "Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)" on an amalgam of individuals he met living in Hollywood.[7][12]
Release
The album's title, track listing, and artwork were revealed via social media on January 12, 2015, with the song "Black Sun" to be released as the lead single from the album.[13] The songs "Black Sun", "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive", and "No Room in Frame", received their live debut during a performance at The Crocodile in Seattle on January 20, 2015, two months prior to the album's release. Black Sun was officially released on January 26, 2015, following several weeks of snippets of lyrics being posted on various social media sites and the official website.
Kintsugi has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating determined by a "weighted average" of reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 67 out of 100, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]
In a three and a half out of five star review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic claims: "Most of Kintsugi shimmers upon a gloss constructed out of new wave remnants and faded memories of yacht rock."[16] Writing for Consequence of Sound and giving the album a "C−" rating, Philip Cosores states: "There are moments of radio-ready bliss, a few songs with lyrics that slowly become affecting, a handful of forgettable diversions, and some expected trite, misguided nonsense."[26] Lanre Bakare of The Guardian gave the album three stars out of five and writes: "Sometimes it's too overwrought and wanders into clichéd territory."[20] Writing for Exclaim!, James Smith felt that "Kintsugi...is a return to form for the band," citing an extra dimension added by blending "lush arrangements...with electronic flourishes" though "the band takes these new elements too far, with underwhelming results."[27]
Kintsugi debuted at No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week. It's the fourth Death Cab for Cutie album to enter the Billboard 200's top 10.[29] In Canada, the album debuted at No. 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 4,800 copies.[30]
