Music crash course: Chris Walla

‘Dogs of death’

Walla doesn’t anticipate much, if any, time to tour in support of “Field Manual.” The next two years of his life will likely be dedicated to touring behind the new Death Cab for Cutie record, which is due via Atlantic in May. As for what it may sound like, Walla promises a harder Death Cab record than may be expected.

“I made a mix the other night that kind of scared my bandmates,” he said. “It’s a pretty heavy, pretty dramatic record. It’s a lot of bold colors. A lot of it is really heavy. It’s unhinged. It’s a lot of what we’ve done on stage but haven’t been able to get on record.

“It’s way less of fluffy bunnies,” Walla continued. “It’s dogs of death.”

Pictured: Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)