Death Cab for Cutie has announced the release “The Blue EP”, which will be released on Friday, 6th September. The announcement comes accompanied by the release of the first track off the project, “Kids in ‘99”

“Kids in ‘99” was written in tribute to three children who lost their lives in the 1999 Bellingham Olympic Pipeline explosion in Seattle, Washington. Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard reflects on the inspiration behind this track: “The Olympic Pipeline explosion in 1999 was a tragedy that really affected me while we were living in Bellingham. After all these years I felt it was worthy of its own folk song.”

Along with all new tracks “Kids in ‘99” and “Blue Bloods” – produced by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Kurt Vile) – the EP also includes “To The Ground” and “Before The Bombs,” produced by Rich Costey during the recording sessions for the band’s critically acclaimed ninth studio album, Thank You for Today and held for this planned subsequent EP. The fifth track on the project, “Man in Blue,” was self-produced by the band.

This past Friday, the band received critical acclaim for “Do You Remember,” a track from Chance the Rapper’s highly-anticipated new album (“The Big Day”) on which they are featured.