Death Cab For Cutie Brings ‘I Built You A Tower’ Standouts To Seattle’s KEXP

Death Cab for Cutie rolled into their local independent radio station’s studios to clock a performance for Seattle’s Live on KEXP. DCFC delivered a trio of tunes from their 2026 album, I Built You A Tower, and more.

I Built You A Tower marked Death Cab’s first studio album in four years following tours celebrating the 20th anniversaries of their LPs Transatlanticism and Plans. The material on I Built You A Tower stemmed from lessons learned on the tour as well as frontman Ben Gibbard experiencing personal loss.

“There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and grief,” Gibbard stated upon announcing the album. “A place that can hold it so we can move on with our lives. But there are these moments where the trauma breaks out of that shell we created for it.”

Gibbard and DCFC kicked off their Live on KEXP session with the I Built You A Tower title track. The rockers continued with the album’s “How Heavenly a State” and “Stone Over Water.” To wrap the session, DCFC took it back to their 2008 record, Narrow Stairs, with “Cath…”

Watch Death Cab For Cutie’s Live on KEXP performance and interview with host Cheryl Waters, filmed on September 7 and released today, below: