Death Cab for Cutie announced their eleventh studio album, I Built You A Tower, set for release on June 5 via ANTI-. The band shared the reflective single Riptides and detailed a 2026 UK and European tour. This marks their return to an independent label after over 20 years on Atlantic.
Death Cab for Cutie, consisting of Benjamin Gibbard, Nicholas Harmer, Jason McGerr, Dave Depper and Zac Rae, revealed details of their new album on March 16. Titled I Built You A Tower, it will be their first release on an indie label since leaving Atlantic after more than two decades. The album follows Asphalt Meadows from 2022 and arrives June 5 via ANTI-Records. It was recorded over three weeks at Animal Rites in Los Angeles, as well as band members' homes in Seattle, Bellingham, Los Angeles and Portland, with production by John Congleton. Frontman Benjamin Gibbard described the title's 'tower' as an emotional shield amid personal struggles, including his marriage collapse and intense touring with both Death Cab and the Postal Service. He said: “There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and grief. 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.” The lead single, Riptides, accompanies a Jason Lester-directed performance video. Gibbard explained: “‘Riptides’ is about the challenge of dealing with personal struggles as the world around us experiences tragedy and loss on an unfathomable scale. And how when these two elements intertwine themselves in our psyches, it feels utterly paralysing.” Guitarist Dave Depper noted: “The anniversary tours exorcised any nostalgia in our systems. We felt part of this powerful force greater than all of us and went into the studio with a sense of, how can we capture that feeling and put it into something new?” The announcement coincides with an expanded tour schedule, adding UK and European dates in September and October 2026 to a previously announced North American run. Pre-sale tickets start March 18 at 10am local time, with general sale on March 20. UK dates include September 16 at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin, 19 at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, and others in Edinburgh, Gateshead, Bristol, London (Troxy), Utrecht, Brussels, Berlin and Paris.
