With "Narrow Stairs" entering Billboard magazine's albums chart at No. 1 last month, it seems that 2008 is going to be a breakout year for Death Cab for Cutie.

"I didn't anticipate this much praise," said drummer Jason McGerr. "I anticipated a great record, but a great record for myself and for ourselves. We just threw everything at the wall, and we never once feared that it was not going to be a cohesive record or that it was not going to sound like a Death Cab record."

The release of "Narrow Stairs" further enhanced the Seattle-based quartet's reputation as a garage band with a unique flair and depth. Rolling Stone magazine recently mentioned the band on the cover and gave the new record four stars. While national publications are proclaiming it as a step away from the normal Death Cab formula, the band doesn't see it that way.

"It's not that out of the box. There's been reference to it having more teeth and blood and a curveball and all that stuff, but really, if you own the Death Cab catalog, you can easily put together bits and pieces," said McGerr, who will be joined by vocalist-guitarist Ben Gibbard, guitarist Chris Walla and bass player Nick Harmer on Saturday at the Whitelies.tv Lawn at White River State Park.

"Maybe what we did was, we just captured more who we are as a group on this album than any other album in the past."

One thing they did differently on their seventh CD was their approach in the studio. Instead of individual recording sessions, they performed as a group.

"We were on the road from 2002 until the end of 2006," McGerr said. "We were building our chops as a band and we really hadn't been able to put those to use on new material until we started recording 'Narrow Stairs.'."

Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corp. photo

Chris Walla (from left), Jason McGerr, Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer are Death Cab for Cutie. Rolling Stone gave its new CD four stars.

Death Cab for Cutie

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Where: WhiteLies.tv Lawn at White River State Park, 801 W. Washington St.

Tickets: $35 and $28.50. For more information, call (317) 239-5151 or visit www.ticketmaster.com

- By Patrick Douglas Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune