Posted on 08/30/2005

 

Does indie rock cease to be indie rock when it goes to a major label record deal? I've always struggled with the label, because although it implies "independent", it's more about the type of music being played than who's paying the artist. Despite Plans being their debut album for Atlantic Records, Death Cab For Cutie has been one of the forerunners of the indie rock scene over the last several years. Starting out in the mid '90s in Seattle, the group assembled five full length albums, several EPs, several side projects (including lead-singer Ben Gibbard's insanely popular group, The Postal Service), and amassed a massive cult following through touring, and more recently, through Seth Cohen's obsessive fandom on the popular teen soap-opera, The O.C.

So what's the fuss about? Plans is the follow-up to DCFC's 2003 break-out album Transatlanticism, and picks right up where their previous work has left off. Knowing what their fans seek in their music (raw and highly-emotional lyrics from the high-pitch voiced Gibbard, and simple and soft rock melodies), Death Cab doesn't seek a new fanbase, but instead, expand upon their current one. Whereas past work has dealt mostly with love and relationships (the good, the bad, AND the ugly), Plans dwells moreso on life and death, and how this affects our perceptions of reality and relationships.

"Soul Meets Body", the first single, is the tamest and most accessible composition on Plans. Based on acoustic guitar rifts, Gibbard uses his distinctive croon to boldly state "If the silence takes you, then I hope it takes me too", but he doesn't delve too deeply into emotion for the time being.

More gut-wrenching is "Summer Skin", a tribute to the summer love fling, and the realization that it won't last past Labor Day's conclusion. Equally difficult to stomach emotionally is "Someday You Will Be Loved", dedicated to getting over a failed relationship (which consequentially brought my best friend to tears upon her first listen). The piano ballad "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" is troubling too, a tale of a tired relationship ending bitterly in a half-assed friendship.



i>Plans isn't completely depressing musically though. "Crooked Teeth" is playfully upbeat, and is a welcome change to the otherwise mopey sound. The brilliant acoustic tune "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" is a loyal tribute to that special loved-one.

Death Cab For Cutie is definitely not for everyone. Some people can't stand this sort of depressing and self-deprecating soft-rock, but many college students thrive off the sheer honesty and universal-appeal of it all. Plans is a strong effort from DCFC, and will likely push them over the edge in regards to mainstream appeal.