Earlier this month, Death Cab for Cutie released “Narrow Stairs,” the band’s best album since breakthrough disc “Transatlanticism.” And the popular Seattle- and Portland-based quartet will perform some of those new tracks at 8:15 p.m. Sunday during the group’s main-stage set at the Gorge Amphitheatre’s season kickoff gala, Sasquatch.

In anticipation of the show, guitarist, keyboard player and production whiz Chris Walla talked about making the new sounds, playing unplugged and Dave Matthews.

I’ll start with the most important questions first. So which ones of you work out with Dave Matthews?

(Sounding confused.) Wha’? What about Dave Matthews?

During the Dalai Lama concert (that Death Cab opened at KeyArena last month) he mentioned working out at the same gym as you guys. I guess it’s not you. You live in Portland.

It’s not me. I think it’s all three of my other band mates, actually.

I wonder who bench presses more – Dave or (Death Cab singer) Ben (Gibbard)?

Probably neither. I would say (bassist) Nick (Harmer). He is the bench-press king.

If we can get into the new album, did you have an aesthetic you consciously wanted to bring out?

Yeah, I think more than anything the biggest (change) for this record was just deciding that we were gonna try to record it live. That did as much to inform sort of the style of this record as anything else did. We went into this record knowing we wanted to make more of a scrappy rock record. But none of us knew exactly what that was going to entail until we started getting into it. So it was just nice to dive in and just to do it.

It definitely sounds like a Death Cab record, but there are those different nuances to it.

Yep. Some of it, too, is going back to tape. I’m finding that that is a really a huge thing. It’s funny; like, when we made “Transatlanticism” in 2002, 2003, making a record on tape didn’t seem quite so exotic as it does now. But now it feels like it’s actually a weird thing to do.

So you’ve fallen back in love with analog, huh?

Yeah. I mean, I never really fell out of love with it. I love Radar, the (digital software) system I have worked in. It’s good for tracking records, too. Like we did (previous Death Cab album) “Plans” in Radar. I did the Tegan & Sara record in Radar. I did one of the Decemberists records in Radar. But I find that people work differently when you’re on tape. There’s no denying that.

Either you do it and perform it well, and that’s it, or you do it again. … It’s really nice. The performance is just so much more committed.

Which of the songs would you point to as being the biggest departure from classic Death Cab?

More than anything, I feel a lot of it is more like a step back to the (Bellingham) living room where we started playing in a lot of ways. Like, “Long Division” has so much in common with “Company Calls,” in a way, from our second record. So it’s a lot of that kind of thing. …

The biggest departures are clear departures, like (lead single) “I Will Possess Your Heart.” And I think “Pity and Fear” is one of those. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s sort of a brasher or more assertive take of what we’ve done at different points for years.

I was curious after seeing your acoustic set at KeyArena if you’d thought of doing an unplugged record.

Yeah, but the thing is that’s something you can do at the 20-year mark if we make it that long. That comes either at the front of or on the heels of the casino tour, I feel like. We have plenty of opportunity to do unplugged stuff, anyway. ’Cause every radio station on the planet has their, you know, “blank session” where you go in and play four songs and meet 16 contest winners. And you have your photo taken with the Cougar and the Bear from the morning show. Those are always unplugged.

That’s not just (Seattle radio station) The End? You’re killin’ me.

The End is the best of those I can say with reasonable authority. It’s really amazing. When you get in the middle of our country – oh, man, it gets really weird. The barbecue gets stickier and smellier, and the jokes get kind of weirder and further towards the fringes. I don’t know. There’s just more of everything. It’s just bigger, faster, louder banality. It’s so obnoxious.

Ernest A. Jasmin: 253-274-7389

Sasquatch Music Festival: Main Stage schedule

Saturday

Dengue Fever, 12:55 p.m.

Beirut, 2:10 p.m.

Ozomatli, 3:15 p.m.

The National, 4:20 p.m.

The New Pornographers, 5:25 p.m.

M.I.A., 6:15 p.m.

Modest Mouse, 8:15 p.m.

R.E.M., 10 p.m.

Sunday

65 Days of Static, 1 p.m.

Blue Scholars, 2:05 p.m.

Cold War Kids, 3:10 p.m.

Tegan & Sara, 4:15 p.m.

Presidents of the United States of America, 5:25 p.m.

Michael Franti & Spearhead, 6:50 p.m.

Death Cab for Cutie, 8:15 p.m.

The Cure, 10 p.m.

Monday

Dyme Def, 11:30 a.m.

Yeasayer, 12:10 p.m.

Matt Costa, 1:05 p.m.

The Hives, 2:10 p.m.

Built to Spill, 3:30 p.m.

Rodrigo y Gabriela, 4:40 p.m.

Flight of the Conchords, 6:05 p.m.

The Mars Volta, 7:15 p.m.

The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show, 9 p.m.

Ernest A. Jasmin, The News Tribune

 • Some of the biggest names in rock with converge on Grant County’s Gorge Amphitheatre this Memorial Day weekend – the likes of R.E.M., the Cure and Death Cab for Cutie. And you’ll be able to check out highlights on our pop music blog, Bring the Noise (blogs.thenewstribune.com/ej).

 • Listen to Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla on Bring the Noise (blogs.thenewstribune.com/ej).

What: Sasquatch music festival, featuring Death Cab for Cutie, R.E.M., the Cure, Modest Mouse and more

When: Saturday through Monday

Where: Gorge Amphitheatre, Grant County

Tickets: $76.50 per day, if available, through Ticketmaster (253-627-8497 in Tacoma, 206-628-0888 in Seattle or www.ticketmaster.com)

Information: Find the full lineup and set times at sasquatchfestival.com/2008.