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Plans (album)

Plans is the fifth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 30, 2005 on Atlantic Records. Emerging from the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s, Death Cab first rose to prominence on the strength of its confessional lyricism and textured indie rock sound. Following a longstanding partnership with indie label Barsuk, the band made the leap to a major label, Atlantic, for Plans. The LP was the band's first time recording outside of their Seattle home; it was produced at Long View Farm, a rural Massachusetts property.

Plans

Plans propelled the band into the mainstream, reaching the top five of the Billboard 200 and scoring a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The album spawned three singles, including "Soul Meets Body" and "Crooked Teeth". Third single "I Will Follow You into the Dark" became the band's most popular song to date, also garnering a Grammy nod for the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Plans was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2008.[1][2]

Background[edit]

Death Cab for Cutie emerged in the early aughts out of the Pacific Northwest independent music scene, spearheaded by singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard. The group first formed in Bellingham, Washington, a small college town north of Seattle. Gibbard recruited bassist Nick Harmer and guitarist/producer Chris Walla to record the band's early demos, and shuffled through drummers before adding Jason McGerr on the kit in 2003. The group's first albums were issued through local boutique label Barsuk Records, with increasing listenership and industry attention.[3][4] Their overseas distribution was complex, with at least seven indie imprints handling their albums in different countries.[5] By the time the group issued their fourth LP, Transatlanticism (2003), the band found themselves fielding offers from the major labels. Their burgeoning success, coupled with Gibbard's similarly successful side project the Postal Service, led the band to ink a lucrative long-term contract with Atlantic Records in November 2004.[5][6]


The move suggested a shift in the perception of "indie" bands in the mainstream, and triggered accusations of inauthenticity. The move polarized fans, who took to message boards to worry that creative control would be diminished with the corporate expectations of a major.[4][7] The band, with its softer, sometimes piano-led sound, was frequently compared to Coldplay, one of the biggest alternative rock groups globally at that time.[8] A&R executives had hoped the band would function as America's answer to Coldplay. The band were aware of these claims; though they outwardly suggested in interviews nothing would change, Gibbard later admitted "the reality was, there was a ton of pressure."[9] Harmer agreed: "It really didn't change the way we worked creatively, but there certainly was enough psychological pressure that was kind of soaking in and seeping in, and I think we were carrying a lot of that stuff around with us, whether we knew it then or not."[10]

Commercial performance[edit]

Expectations for the band's major-label move were high, with the group viewed as poised for a major breakthrough.[20] Plans was properly announced in July 2005.[18] Barsuk remained involved in the band, with the label's logo appearing on the back cover of Plans, and the label retaining the rights to release it on vinyl.[5] The band suggested that fans download the record for free.[21]


The group issued "Soul Meets Body" in advance of the album as its lead single, streaming on their website.[22] It was worked at U.S. radio that September.[18] The album arrived after a heavy marketing campaign, including a pre-order push and increased storefront positioning.[23] Plans was released to independent record stores prior to its worldwide debut, making its bow on August 23.[5] That same day, the album became available for streaming exclusively on MTVU.com, MTV's website targeting college students, for one week.[23] Its general retail and digital releases followed on August 30. "Soul Meets Body" represented the band's biggest radio hit at that time.[24] "Crooked Teeth" began promotion that December.[5] The album was a favorite among music directors for film and TV; virtually every song from Plans was synced.[21]


Plans became the band's first top-10 album, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200 and moving 90,000 copies in its first sales week.[24][25] Death Cab was one of the first indie rock bands to score a top five album in the U.S.; prior to this, only Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning had hit the top ten.[8] In all, the set spent fifty weeks on the chart,[25] never selling less than 1,000 copies in a week in the first three years of release.[21] By 2008, it was certified platinum; it has logged 1.2 million copies domestically sold as of 2015. Prior to this, the band's entire Barsuk output had grossed 1.1 million combined.[21]

Touring[edit]

The group began a North American headlining tour in support of Plans in October 2005 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Youth Group and Stars were support acts on each leg of the trek. The tour wrapped in November 2005 at the Paramount Theatre in the band's Seattle hometown.[22] The band also performed at several festivals, including domestic gigs at Summerfest in Milwaukee,[18] Central Park Summerstage in New York and Austin City Limits in Texas, and the Summer Sonic Festival abroad in Japan.[22] The band also staged a special benefit concert to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina at Seattle's Showbox venue.[23]


The band chose to refrain from playing songs from Plans in advance of its release, with Harmer recalling to Billboard that they had previously exhausted songs from their third album, The Photo Album, prior to its debut.[22] The band's 2006 tour grossed $5.9 million, with 31 out of 47 shows selling out according to Billboard Boxscore.[21] During the Plans album cycle, the quartet also made their national television debuts with performances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in September 2005, and on Saturday Night Live in January 2006.[24]

Legacy[edit]

Death Cab for Cutie was among the first indie acts to break through on a mainstream level, garnering consistent radio airplay and touring arenas in the aftermath of Plans. In the mid-2000s, the quartet became one of the biggest names in alternative rock.[45]


Each song from Plans were adapted into short films, creating an anthology titled Directions. The project was developed by Harmer and Aaron Stewart-Ahn, a filmmaker from the production company Otaku-House.[24] Each piece was helmed by a different director. The shorts debuted on Death Cab's website in January 2006.[46]

– vocals, guitars, piano

Ben Gibbard

Nick Harmer – bass

– drums

Jason McGerr

– guitars, keyboards, production

Chris Walla

at Metacritic

Plans