Alternative Press teamed up with Death Cab for Cutie for a vinyl of I Built You A Tower. Head to the AP Shop to grab yours.
Death Cab for Cutie have announced their 11th studio album, I Built You a Tower, out June 5 via ANTI- Records. The LP, which was produced and engineered by John Congleton (Phoebe Bridgers, PUP), is the band’s first independent release after 20 years with Atlantic Records.
I Built You a Tower was written over the last few years during major milestones for the band, including the 20th anniversary of Transatlanticism and Plans. Behind the scenes, vocalist Ben Gibbard’s personal life was breaking down, using the concept of a “tower” to protect himself. “There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and grief,” Gibbard says. “A place that can hold it so we can move on with our lives. But there are these moments where the trauma breaks out of that shell we created for it.”
Read more: Death Cab for Cutie’s ultimate summer playlist
Lead single “Riptides” comes with a video, directed by Jason Lester, that features silhouettes of the band performing against colorful lights. “‘Riptides’ is about the challenge of dealing with personal struggles as the world around us experiences tragedy and loss on an unfathomable scale,” Gibbard explains. “And how, when these two elements intertwine themselves in our psyches, it feels utterly paralyzing.”
Death Cab for Cutie recently announced a North American tour throughout the summer, and they’re extending that tour across the U.K. and Europe later this fall.
Watch the video for “Riptides,” see their 2026 tour dates, and check out the tracklist for I Built You A Tower below.
Death Cab for Cutie – I Built You a Tower tracklist
1. “Full of Stars”
2. “Punching The Flowers”
3. “Pep Talk”
4. “I Built You A Tower (a)”
5. “Envy The Birds”
6. “Stone Over Water”
7. “How Heavenly a State”
8. “Trap Door”
9. “Riptides”
10. “The Flavor of Metal”
11. “I Built You A Tower (b)”
Death Cab For Cutie 2026 tour dates
05/29 – Denver, CO @ Outside Days
07/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
07/11 – Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre
07/12 – Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater
07/14 – Cincinnati, OH @ MegaCorp Pavilion
07/15 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion
07/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts
07/18 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC
07/19 – Toronto, ON @ RBC Amphitheatre
07/21 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/22 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
07/24 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
07/25 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary
07/26 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrah’s Stir Cove
07/28 – Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater
07/29 – Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater
07/31 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
08/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
08/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
08/04 – San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park
08/06 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater a
08/07 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
08/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
09/16 – Dublin, IE @ 3Olympia Theatre
09/19 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
09/20 – Edinburgh, UK @ Corn Exchange
09/21 – Gateshead, UK @ The Glasshouse
09/23 – Bristol, UK @ The Prospect Building
09/25 – London, UK @ Troxy
09/29 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
09/30 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
10/01 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
10/03 – Paris, FR @ Élysée Montmartre
