Pitchfork

Since we last checked in with Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, he's been busy, though not exactly with his eventually forthcoming solo record.

According to his website, he was asked to work on Tegan and Sara's next record, and his song "Radio" (originally recorded under his Martin Youth Auxiliary moniker) is featured on an Urban Outfitters compilation, the majority of the proceeds from which will go toward the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

But Walla also mentions that Warne Livesey may mix a portion of his record, which we had previously reported as being titled It's Unsustainable, though it all seems pretty up-in-the-air at this point. He writes, "The goal is to have the thing finished by the end of April and out by September or so. It's not a big deal; I just ran out of time. The studio completion and console installation have taken way longer than I anticipated. I still like the songs, and I still like the recordings I've got so far. Moreover, [Ben] Gibbard has threatened to 'hunt me down and stab me' if I don't finish, so I suppose I don't really have much choice. He's got a wicked letter opener, that one."

And millions of emo girls who'd love to see that letter opener, too. Huh huh.

Anyway, in the meantime, Walla is appeasing fans by posting "Dave Narcizo", a song that may or may not be featured on the album, considering it was recorded in 1997 and mixed in 2001. As one would expect from a song recorded onto a cassette deck, it's a decidedly lo-fi tune. It sounds like a tribute to 90s alternative rock, so the inspiration behind the song makes perfect sense. Walla does a pretty good job of explaining it himself, so we've posted his explanation of the song's origin in its entirety below.

"Dave Narcizo was the drummer in a band called Throwing Muses, formed in Boston sometime in the mid eighties. In 1995, they released a record called University that changed my life a little bit. It's one of those records where a whole mess of factors blankets the whole thing and can either ruin it completely or bring it to life. A new bass player, a staggering list of producer/engineer types, a huge side project success in the rearview; that sort of thing. University is clearly alive, even still; there are very few records in my collection that make me want to write songs, but this is definitely one. I was loving Narcizo's surgical and song-focused approach to drum arrangement at this time; Ben's 'TV Trays' (from the DCfC You Can Play These Songs With Chords CD) was based on a song of mine called 'The Man Who Lost His Arms in the War', which was a direct quote from the Muses' 'Surf Cowboy'. Anyway, this song has everything to do with that. And 'The First Part', my favorite Superchunk song."