Death Cab for Cutie - Wellington

US indie pop/rock star quartet Death Cab For Cutie’s first ever New Zealand appearance will be an exclusive one night only performance at the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival. The group are a late addition to the Festival’s strong Town Hall Gigs line-up in March. “We are thrilled to add Death Cab For Cutie to our exciting Town Hall Gigs line-up for the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival,’’ says Festival Artistic Director Lissa Twomey. “Like our Town Hall megastars, Bon Iver, these musicians have captured international attention and a fiercely loyal fan base with their distinctive sound." Death Cab For Cutie began as a solo project of front man Ben Gibbard in 1997 with the release of a cassette demo, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, which lead to a record deal. Gibbard expanded the project, recruiting guitarist (Chris Walla), bass player (Nick Harmer) and drummer (Nathan Good). The band released their first album, Something About Airplanes in 1998. Their seventh and latest album, Codes and Keys, released in May is up for a Grammy Award (as was their sixth, Narrow Stairs, 2008) and has received glowing praise from reviewers around the world, many noting its sonic exploration and lyrical ambition. The LA Times said,” The band’s musical ambitions have grown right alongside their audience. The songs from Codes and Keys were their most experimental while staying effortlessly melodic.” The album debuted at number six on the ARIA chart in Australia. The band’s 2012 Australian tour has already sold out in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Additional dates have been added due to demand. Tracks from the band have appeared in soundtracks of TV shows – The O.C, Six Feet Under, CSI: Miami and Californication and films Wedding Crashers and Mean Creek. The 2012 Town Hall Gigs include music from Tinariwen (Mali), Barefoot Divas (New Zealand, Australia and international) with Walk A Mile In My Shoes, Bon Iver (USA), Sharon Shannon Big Band (Ireland) and Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band (USA) with Cubano Be! Cubano Bop! Death Cab For Cutie is at the Wellington Town Hall on 29 February for the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival, Wellington, 24 February – 18 March. Tickets $38 – $75 available from Ticketek from 9am on Thursday 22nd December.