Alternative rock bands The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie closed out All Points East with an emotional and electric set, celebrating the 20th anniversaries of their respective albums Give Up and Transatlanticism. The American bands, both fronted by 48-year-old Ben Gibbard, played the albums in full to a 35,000-strong crowd in East London’s Victoria Park. Death Cab for Cutie opened the headline slot with the track The New Year, as frontman Gibbard announced: “We are Death Cab for Cutie, we are from Seattle , Washington – this is Transatlanticism.
” The indie rock band, who wore all black outfits, moved through the album track by track with the crowd particularly enjoying upbeat hit The Sound of Settling and the more sombre Tiny Vessels. The album Transatlanticism explores the sadder side of relationships, with lyrics about lost loves, fleeting loves and loves that are not meant to be. During the title track, the crowd sang along to the refrain “I need you so much closer”, bringing a depth of emotion to the mid-point of Death Cab for Cutie’s section.
Gibbard dedicated the track We Looked Like Giants to Oregon-based band The Decemberists, who played the same stage earlier in the day, reflecting on the festival’s line up by saying it felt like a north-western USA “family reunion” backstage. After a 45-minute set, which closed out with an acoustic version of A Lack of Color, The Postal Service took to the stage, launching into their set with the electron.