Solo albums are sometimes great repositories of weirdness, places where band members can showcase all the random effluvia deemed too experimental for their day jobs (see: Greenwood, Jonny).
Or not: Field Manual, the solo debut from Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, is a fine, bracingly conventional offering. Walla, who takes a subsidiary role in Death Cab, sings and writes and plays most every instrument here, but nevertheless doesn't venture far from the mothership; Field Manual sounds less like a declaration of independence than a Death Cab album that the other members forgot to show up for.
Its lead single, "Sing Again," is two and a half minutes of pop pleasure, a bass-propelled brand extension stacked with harmonies, gratuitous helicopter noises, and an unmercifully catchy chorus. The words hint at a darker purpose ("A life packed full of mindless joy / It is not easy to enjoy"), but pay them no mind. "Sing Again" wants only to please: It's like Ben Folds Five mixed with Sugar mixed with puppies.
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This story originally ran on Jan. 28, 2008.
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