The Stability EP is perhaps the most controversial release in the Death Cab catalog. Although it came out around the time of The Photo Album (appearing in original pressings), it abandoned that album's more propulsive nature and retreated to a sound somewhere along the lines of We Have The Facts... as seen through the eyes of Low. The title track is perhaps the most controversial of the tunes here, moving at well past the 12 minute mark. And although the latter portion of the song is a single guitar line repeated over and over, there are some gorgeous building synth swells the add a sort-of epic quality to the tune. And that guitar line is simple, but pretty anyway. If anything drags, it might be "20th Century Towers," but when in the right mood, the track works wonders. Best of all is an excellent cover of Bjork's "All Is Full Of Love," a cover that reminds one of the original only in the sense of melody. But Death Cab makes it completely there own. I'm usually not a fan of covers, but this is everything a cover should be. If there's a hole in your Death Cab collection, purchase this nice EP.

Let me start off by saying that some folks gripe about this EP dragging on, especially the closing title track. I don't think this is the case, but I'll get to that in a moment.

The Stability EP gathers the three tracks that only appeared on the initial pressing (and Japanese release) of their record The Photo Album, providing an easier way for folks to get ahold of these tracks. Yeah, there are only three tracks here, but the playing time of the EP clocks in around three minutes.

Music-wise, the album seems to focus around the slower (make that slowest) aspects of the band, hinted at on The Photo Album. Sure, Death Cab's sophomore album, We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, definitely takes its time as a whole, but this is different in such a way I can't really put a finger on it.

The EP opens up with "20th Century Towers," which barely crawls along at any pace whatsoever. This isn't bad, either. The left/right channel guitar interplay between Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla, especially at the end of the song, is quite captivating, as is the sole instance the entire band chimes in for an a capella line. For any DCFC fan who is used to the faster, fuzzier tracks of days past, this is a shocking and somewhat pleasant experience.

Next up is a cover of Björk's "All is Full of Love." The band does the song justice, though not much is changed. This tracks is the most propulsive on the EP, mostly in part to recently-departed drummer Michael Schorr's flurriful drum beat (using toms and brushes to a great effect).

The final song, "Stability," seems to be the track that irks most reviewers off. This tune is close to 12 minutes, with over half of it focused on the same melody played over and over and over. This might be off-putting at first, but the song eventually gets itself burrowed into your skull until it won't leave. After Gibbard's 30-some second piano intro, the track plods along with vocals (backing vox thanks to labelmate John Vanderslice, who adds some nice Juno synth to the track too). The song eventually coasts to a sadly beautiful guitar line that continues for...well...quite some time.

Basically, these are three great songs that might take some getting used to. If you don't enjoy anything that isn't "peppy," then steer clear of this EP. Anyone else will probably be rewarded with a collection of songs that serve as a great counterpoint to Death Cab's faster material.

This is frankly not the strongest EP I've ever heard, certainly not as good as forbidden love. All is full of love is good on one level (it's a damn good song) but also disapointing in that the band didn't really do anything too creative with it. still a good listen though.

of the originals I found 20th century towers more enjoyable than stability. stability is the first time I ever found myself growing impatient with a deatcab song.

bottom line, not an essential EP

Slow-burning tribute from Deathcab produces surprisingly tender results, broken up nicely by the up-tempo Bjork cover, also done nicely. Probably not a favorite of some fans due to the minimalist nature, but given the sensitive refrain from faster paced material, some very under appreciated work. The very disdain for the extended instrumental of the Stability proves that many fans are holding prejudice, as the track displays nary a hint of pretentiousness, possibly holding more promise for those that do not belong to this rabid fanbase.

This EP is overpriced for the 3 songs on it. "20th Century Towers" is a slow song with a meandering sound which doesn't get very interesting. The Bjork cover, "All Is Full Of Love", is the one really good song here. I haven't heard the original so I can't compare the two versions; this version has a nice drumbeat in the background with guitarwork and vocals that build up to a crescendo. The song "Stability" is a much longer and slightly quieter version of "Stable Song" which was included later on the album "Plans". The lyrics and music are the same although the style and length vary greatly. Personally I prefer "Stable Song", which is just short of 4 minutes; "Stability" is over 12 minutes. The lyrics are repeated a second time in a dreamy style and after the vocal portion is done the repeated guitar chord with a simple drumbeat goes on for almost 5 minutes with occasional guitar distortion. Is it a nice guitar chord? Yes, but the lengthy repetition can get boring; although I guess it could be good if you're looking for background music to mellow out to. For the most part this EP is only good for those wanting to complete their Death Cab for Cutie collection; otherwise, they have many albums and EPs which are far better than this one.