In a statement released through Seattle news site Slog, Death Cab for Cutie guitarist/producer Chris Walla has announced that he will be leaving the band next month. His last show will be on Sept. 13 at the Rifflandia Festival in Victoria, British Columbia.
"I will miss being a quarter of this band, and will support whatever course Death Cab for Cutie chooses from here," Walla writes in his statement. "I am profoundly grateful to Ben, Nick, and Jason, for the experiences that define my adult life. Truly grateful, beyond words. Thank you."
In a statement released through Death Cab for Cutie's website, Walla's bandmates Ben Gibbard, Nick Harmer, and Jason McGerr confirm Walla's departure, while also providing an update on their next album.
"We've had an incredible 17 years of making music with Chris. We are very proud of what we've accomplished together, including our 8th studio album which we have just put the finishing touches on."
Though it hasn't been made clear why exactly Walla will be leaving Death Cab for Cutie, it seems like an amicable, yet difficult, departure. "Deciding to leave the band was not, and is not, easy. It's really, really sad," he writes. "I love my bandmates, and I'm proud of what we've done, and mercifully, those things don't change with my departure. Moving forward, my plans are simply to continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of the benevolence and beauty whenever possible. Darkness may find me, but I shall never choose it."
