Ben Gibbard's Next Moves

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie tells SPIN.com that the next album will be a lot "softer" than Narrow Stairs, which he says was a dark and exhausting album to create. In return, SPIN calls him a 'broken-hearted bard,' which sounds like an exhausting way to live--even before taking on an ambitiously epic musical project. Maybe it's time to make another electronic indie pop record. (Note to Gibbard: Please reconsider your hesitancy and give the people what they want!)