The Forbidden Love EP could have been a few throwaways to keep fans busy until the follow-up to We Have The Facts..., but it's not. It includes "Photobooth," one of Death Cab's best songs. "Photobooth" has become a fan favorite, and rightly so; it's a beautiful indie-pop tune with some gorgeous synths and Ben Gibbard's heartfelt lyrics. "Technicolor Girls" is a nice, but inessential, tune, but "Song For Kelly Huckaby," like "Photobooth," is one of Death Cab's strongest songs. "Song For Kelly Huckaby" indicates the direction Death Cab would take for The Photo Album, as it is one of Death Cab's louder tunes.

The acoustic version of "405" is very pretty, but the alternate take of "Company Calls Epilogue" takes one of the strongest tunes on We Have The Facts and turns it into what sounds like a lo-fi demo. In other words, it's nothing special. Overall, though, "Photobooth" and "Song For Kelly Huckaby" makes the Forbidden Love EP an essential purchase for any Death Cab fan.

Before I review this EP, you might want to know about my credentials. I am not now, or ever have been: a fan of indie. I have known about this band for quite some time now. But, I never really stopped to take a good listen. After a while though, their prescence got the best of me, and I decided to purchase this EP to see what these dudes were all about, and what a pleasant experience it was.

The disc opens up with the catchy technical drumbeat intro of "photobooth". A song littered with mellow keyboards, calming guitar picking and lyrically soothing goodness. I quickly decided that simply because of that one song, this band was a winner. I realize that photobooth is in most people's oppinion the best on here, but it's enough to make this CD worthwhile. As for the other tracks... Well, i'm getting to them.

After photobooth comes the even slower and less upbeat "technicolor girls". For some reason this song didn't do it for me. I suspect that's because I'm used to much more upbeat stuff. (I.E. punk, hardcore) I'd like to think that fans of indie rock would like this very much.

Next in line if the drawny "Song for Kelly Huckaby". This track in my oppinion has some very fine guitarwork and nice vocal effects. It's sort of sad like the last two songs but still gets me smiling.

"405" is an acoustic relapse of another Death cab song I havent even heard. I enjoyed it greatly and was glad to hear a happier and upbeat song on here. Lastly, Company calls finishes up this EP. The drumbeat on here is really cool and lyrics really standout from the rest. All in all a great finisher.

I found that this EP was a bit more mellow and poppy than their other stuff I've heard, which sounds more indie-rockish. I'm glad I bought this, I even went on to purchase "we have the facts" a couple weeks after. Although this isn't a genre a music I particularly spend a lot of time in, I think anyone can enjoy these songs, no matter what their tastes. there wasn't a single song here that I didn't enjoy in some way. I would also recommend this highly to anyone wanting to get into this band, but don't know where to start.

7/10 score for catchy vibes, good lyrics, and some innovation here and there. Very flattering EP...

This is album is great, so great that everyone should own a copy. The album starts with "Photobooth". Everyone who loves Death Cab For Cutie loves them either because this song or love this song just cause. Its just that good of a song. It starts with an ecclectic drum beat that leads to a nice riff. The lyrics are both meaningful, intresting, and the type of lyrics that you hear and go "aw, man why didn't I write that?" Next, "Techinicolor Girls" is a great song. It starts off nice and slow and continues that way. I sometimes have a problem seeing where "Photo" end and "Girls" begin but it is rather clear. "Girls" continues to have intresting lyrics the whole way through, though its not one of those songs that you hear and can go "that's my life." Its still a very good laid back song. "Photo" and "Girls" are my two favorite songs not only on the CD but by Death Cab... The other three songs "Song for...", "405" and "Company Calls" are all very good. This CD is worth the buy.

This in one my favorites of all time. "Photobooth" and "Song for Kelly Huckaby" are possibably the best that DCFC has ever written. "Technicolor Girls" is one of those songs that just has a nostalgic feel to it. Forbidden Love also contains alternate versions of two of the best off of We Have the Facts, and We're Voting Yes, and they are even better than they were originally. "405" is just a beautiful song but acoustic its even more great and "Company Calls Epilogue" is one of my personal favorites from this band. Perfect for anyone who is a fan or wants to see what all the fuss is about. Also perfect for those people who think this band is garbage because they havent really given them a chance. Buy it and fall in love with a compellingly honest band. Benjamin Gibbard is Hemingway reincarnte.

At this point, it's nearly impossible to separate Death Cab For Cutie the band from Death Cab For Cutie the almost unbearable hype-generating machine. Not that it's their fault, since it always seemed that the indie community took it squarely upon themselves to declare Death Cab For Cutie the next "it" band, but there was a point last year where it seemed impossible to escape the spectre of We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, an album which in all honesty didn't deserve the mountains of press it received. We Have The Facts... was a decent album, but Christopher Walla's murky production and the absence of drummer Nathan Good resulted in what was ultimately a collection of watered down songs which never managed to deliver.

So now we have Death Cab For Cutie's new EP, Forbidden Love. It's a pretty typical offering for the format: three new songs and two reworked ones from the full length. But whereas normally these sorts of releases could be generally ignored by the non-fanatics, there's a real eyebrow-raiser here in "Song For Kelly Huckaby," a song which gets everything right that was botched on the full length. Walla's production is crisp and direct, helping his guitars and Good's drums bring the force and immediacy that was so desperately needed. And for all of the yearning and unrequited love which dominates Walla's songwriting, "Song For Kelly Huckaby" even manages to best everything he's done before. Reminiscence never sounded so good, as Walla avoids much of the acrimony which never rang true on We Have The Facts... Opening with the words "Photographs from the past" could have set "Kelly Huckaby" up as cliche, but every line here perfectly, almost poetically, captures the tangled feelings of regret and retrospection.

The rest of the album is pretty forgettable in comparison. "Photobooth" is good; "Technicolor Girls" isn't. Then there's the acoustic version of "405" and a re-engineered "Company Calls Epilogue," neither of which offers anything really new over the original versions. And there it is. As its own cycle of songs, The Forbidden Love EP isn't anything special, but as a vehicle for the superb "Song For Kelly Huckaby," it's a success.