Chris Walla, the indie super-producer and former Death Cab For Cutie guitarist, is a Stereogum member and frequent commenter around these parts. We love him for that. We also love him for releasing 2002, a new EP comprising three tracks recorded in the titular year.

As explained in the Bandcamp details, the songs on 2002 were recorded at John Vanderslice’s studio Tiny Telephone in San Francisco and back at Walla’s Seattle home base, the Hall Of Justice. This was the tumultuous period between The Photo Album and Transatlanticism when it wasn’t clear whether Death Cab would carry on, and the substance of these tracks is in keeping with Death Cab’s sound back then. Walla is, of course, a different presence on the mic compared to Ben Gibbard, but it’s fun to get this window back into what he was working on in that moment — and, oh yeah, the music is good.

Stream 2002 below.

(I should note that Walla produced Ratboys’ The Window, one of the very best albums of 2023, so we love him for that too.)