Death Cab for Cutie at Troxy, London

Written By Oliver Chambers

Photo: Shervin Lainez

It’s hard to believe that Death Cab For Cutie have been around for nearly three decades. Since Something About Airplanes arrived in 1998, the Pacific Northwest band have gone from an indie outfit to one of the defining names of American alternative & indie rock, with records like Transatlanticism, Plans and Narrow Stairs taking them well beyond their original audience.

Now, 11 albums into their career, they’re still touring and finding new listeners. Their latest record, I Built You A Tower, arrived in June 2026, with a world tour following across 2026 and 2027.

So, on the night of the 26th of September 2026, after delving into Cafe 1001, spending some time exploring their Negroni Week, & a quick Brick Lane curry afterwards… I found myself in an East London ex-luxury cinema, Troxy, watching Death Cab For Cutie.

(If you’d like a fun fact, the first film shown at Troxy Cinema was King Kong back in 1933!)

I arrived just as the night begun; walking into the support, Pool Kids, starting to play. A band that’s been around for 10 years, achieving one of their dreams: to tour with Death Cab For Cutie. It seems that this mutual love for the main event engaged the crowd with the band, giving them a chance to shine. They delivered successfully and sufficiently warmed up the crowd. Like an appetiser, it was short and sweet.

As the clock turned 9pm, a keyboard version of Kraftwerk’s Computer Love started to play. The lights dimmed, the anticipation grew & Death Cab For Cutie walked onto stage, opening with Riptides.

After a few songs; The New Year, The Ghosts of Beverly Drive, & the new title track, I Built You A Tower (a)…, Ben Gibbard (lead vocals) began some crowd work. “So many young faces in the crowd,” he remarked. Looking around, it was clear just how mixed the audience was, from fathers and sons to lifelong friends and couples. For a band that have been around since the late ’90s, it was a nice reminder of how their music continues to reach different generations.

Photo: Oliver Chambers

Before Rand McNally, Gibbard reflected on a conversation he had with a dad, whose son has just started touring. It reminded him of Death Cab For Cutie’s own early days, and he dedicated the song to them. 

Gibbard noticed the fresh faces in the crowd again leading him to ask the audience if it was their first time seeing the band. Probably about just over 1/3 put their hands up, so he dedicated the solo acoustic version of I Will Follow You Into The Dark to them.

It’s quite special when just one band member is performing a song and the whole crowd sings it back to them in awe. He had asked the crowd to sing a chorus, with the promise that he’d add an extra one so the audience “got their money’s worth”. 

The mood shifted as the bassline of I Will Possess Your Heart began. The crowd followed the drum pattern with bursts of cheering before synchronised clapping filled the room. The long introduction gave the crowd plenty of time to build up before the first verse.

Death Cab For Cutie had dedicated Cath… to their opening act, Pool Kids, and a lot of the people around me clapped in agreement with their performance. During Soul Meets Body, Ben lifted his guitar towards the sky before beginning the transition into Foxglove Through the Clearcut, the final song before the interlude.

With Death Cab For Cutie leaving the stage, the audience carried rapturous applause, until they returned for the encore. Opening up again with Title Track, Gibbard remarked on how strange it was to see some of the same people from the previous night still occupying the front row. Then ended on a high note with Transatlanticism.

The performance from Death Cab For Cutie was really up there; you can tell Ben is very much in love with the music that he is playing. However, something about the sound in Troxy felt off - whether that’s the vocals being too loud or the sound not travelling across the venue like it is intended.

What stands out most is the band’s remarkable longevity and the atmosphere they can still conjure after nearly three decades. From the older fans who have been there since the beginning to the younger faces Ben noticed in the crowd, there was a real sense that Death Cab For Cutie’s music has managed to carry itself across generations - and judging by the number of people dancing and singing throughout the entire set, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Go see Death Cab for Cutie before the remaining tickets sell out. You can catch them on the remaining dates of their EU/UK 2026 tour here:

Make sure to check out the full setlist from the night below:

  • Riptides

  • Roman Candles

  • The New Year

  • Punching the Flowers

  • The Ghosts of Beverly Drive

  • Black Sun

  • I Built You a Tower (a)

  • Photo Booth

  • Pep Talk

  • Rand McNally

  • I Will Follow You Into The Dark

  • I will Possess Your Heart

  • Stone Over Water

  • How Heavenly A State

  • Cath…

  • Crooked Teeth

  • Trap Door

  • You Are A Tourist

  • Soul Meets Body

  • Foxglove Through the Clearcut

  • ENCORE

  • Title Track 

  • A Movie Script Ending 

  • The Sound Of Settling

  • Transatlanticism

Oliver Chambers
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