Album reviews

After selling over 300,000 copies of their highly-acclaimed last record Transatlanticism, enjoying an almost weekly name-dropping on The OC, and not to mention touring shortly with Blink 182, Death Cab for Cutie, the band that swore for years that they would never sign to a major label have finally given in and signed to Atlantic last year. And although that decision caused many of the bands’ original core fans much grief, frontman Ben Gibbard credited the decision to Atlantic’s allowance of their artistic freedom as well as the blessing from the staff of Barsuk, the small Seattle-based record label which released all of Death Cab’s previous albums. After even one listen to the new album Plans, it becomes painfully clear that Atlantic allowed Death Cab all of the artistic freedom they desired. Plans begins with a landslide of pure pop, and the momentum carries through the entire album. Although there are a few songs in the middle of the album that seem misplaced, for the most part, Death Cab has stayed true to their indie pop roots. With characteristically beautiful melodies that will leave you humming for days as well as Gibbard’s typically emo lyrics about heartache, breakups and childhood, Plans provides a refreshing dose of pop that is desperately needed in the mainstream—the kind of music fellow label-mates Sugar Ray and Unkle Cracker could never hope to achieve.