Latest Album might signal plateau of Death Cab for Cutie

On his band’s fifth full-length album, “Plans,” Death Cab for Cutie front-man, and indie poster-boy, Ben Gibbard, sings, “Love is watching someone die.”

Thrust into the mainstream – thanks in part to the surprising success of Gibbard’s glitch-pop side project (The Postal Service), and a rich kid named Seth Cohen – DCFC’s jump from its home at the small Seattle-based Barsuk Records to major-label Atlantic had some fans worried they were going to witness the decline and death of a band they loved. Instead, fans may have just witnessed the band’s plateau.

In short, the 11-track “Plans” will leave most people just saying, “Eh.”

The album starts off on the right foot. “Marching Bands of Manhattan,” is a solid track that transitions smoothly into the band’s most openly-pop song, “Soul Meets Body” – the album’s single, and most obvious stray from DCFC’s traditional sound. Gibbard breaks things down acoustically midway through the album in the bittersweet “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” another song about love and death.

After that, things start to go wrong, and the second half of the album – with the exception of “What Sarah Said” – begins to drop off quickly. For “Plans,” guitarist Chris Walla, again doubled as the band’s producer, twisting the knobs and tweaking levels to perfection, but still it’s not enough to save the disc’s boring second half.

Sadly, for the first time in his illustriously-indie career (DCFC, Postal Service, All-Time Quarterback), Gibbard’s lyrics start to lag. While he still delivers a beautiful melody, the once sweet and simple tales of boring suburban life have been replaced by constant references to his true love’s death, making the album something of a drag.

New Death Cab fans will probably put this disc into regular rotation for time being; after a few listens, older fans will probably turn to the “Photo Album” once again.

Aaron Falk is the news editor for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to

acf@cc.usu.edu