Transatlanticism

Transatlanticism is the fourth studio album by Death Cab for Cutie, released October 7, 2003 on Barsuk Records. Prior to the album's release, Ben Gibbard stated: "…unlike The Photo Album, I feel like this record is definitely more like a proper album. We’ve tried to construct it with transitions of songs going in and out of each other, and I think it's a little bit more expansive than the last record."

The album peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. The album has been certified Gold in the U.S. It is available on CD, SACD, and vinyl.

The album is Jason McGerr's first as the band's drummer. The album was rated the 57th best of the decade by Rolling Stone.

The album received highly positive reviews, and is to date the band's most acclaimed album. Transatlanticism scored an 85 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". Rob Theakston of Allmusic stated, "It's the group's maturity as musicians as well as songwriters that make Transatlanticism such a decadently good listen from start to finish" and gave it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Among the most critical of the album was William Morris from Pitchfork Media, who stated, "Transatlanticism dulls the edges of their usually acute divinations", although he gave the album a positive review.

Tracks from Transatlanticism have been featured in several films and television shows. A poster of the album cover hangs in the bedroom of The O.C. character Seth Cohen, and a copy of the album is part of his "starter pack" during the first "Chrismukkah" episode. The song "A Lack of Color" is featured on Music From The OC: Mix 2. The song "Transatlanticism" was featured in a season four episode of Six Feet Under, a season five episode of CSI Miami ("Death Pool"), an episode of Harper's Island, and the films The Puffy Chair and Disturbia. "The Sound of Settling" was featured on the soundtracks for Wedding Crashers, Shop Girl, and Mean Creek. The song "Passenger Seat" was featured in the Californication episode "Girls, Interrupted".