Death Cab for Cutie’s consistently compelling fourth album is filled with such catchy gems as “The New Year” and “The Sound of Settling,” where frontman Ben Gibbard sets his wry post-romantic observations to head-bopping beats and a few ba-ba-ba’s. But when Gibbard wallows in melancholy, the results turn spectacular. “Tiny Vessels” starts off delicately, drenches itself in enough feedback to make the Jesus and Mary Chain proud, then sullenly retreats, with Gibbard quietly declaring, “You are beautiful, but you don’t mean a thing to me.” Or take the nearly eight-minute, Spiritualized-channeling title track: Gibbard’s plea — “I need you so much closer” — floats over an ever-building bed of piano, synthesizer and guitar until a heart-melting chorus of voices rises up to bolster his case. His request will, most likely, go unheeded, but separation and disappointment seem to be Gibbard’s muses.