Death Cab For Cutie Plans

While somewhat irksome in its new watered down flavor, there are still signs of brilliance to be found in their latest effort and first major release

Life gets a little bit harder when you make it big, just ask any indie rock band that's trying to overcome their inability to meet the increased expectations. The latest example is Death Cab for Cutie, yet another critically acclaimed Seattle-area rock band to come out of the late 90's. After constantly gaining fans from tours and subsequent word of mouth recommendations, Death Cab for Cutie's success would reach a peak with the anthemic and enthralling album Transatlanticism. Now, after signing a contract with the major record label Atlantic, DCFC has released Plans, an album that focuses heavily on being mellow for the sake of being mellow. The striking poignancy and sense of urgency in their earlier sound has been zapped, replaced, unsurprisingly, with a more polished sound that takes more away from them than it adds. However, with the extraordinary, foot-tapping pop tune of "Crooked Teeth," it appears that Death Cab for Cutie can in fact change directions without losing any spark. Fans of the older sound will be happy with the well executed "Different Names for the Same Thing" as well as "Your Heart Is an Empty Room" and the sharp "Brothers on a Hotel Bed." The latter finds Death Cab perfectly bridging the old with the new, as the sound is perhaps most polished on this song, but with the extensive drum patterns and poignant lyrics, it feels much more natural than many of their other tracks. "What Sarah Said" finds Death Cab for Cutie at their most anthemic as far as this album goes, and while it's a relatively decent track it feels much more laborious than any of their previous lengthy tracks. Overall, the "new sound" Death Cab is going to take some getting used to, especially for die-hards, but if nothing else this could just be a transitional phase where the members are simply just trying to find themselves again. Either way, this is a decent album, and while it certainly won't gain them any more acclaim, there are some songs on here that are well worth repeated listenings.

★★★¾