Death Cab For Cutie – Plans

Death Cab For Cutie – Plans

Rating – 30%

I couldn’t help but let out a bellowing yawn when I heard that indie pop darlings Death Cab For Cutie had a new record on the way. Their first release by the way, on major label giants Atlantic Records. A band whose first two albums dazzled critics and fans alike, only to flounder on there following two. With each of the two albums that came after “We have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes” Ben Gibbard and company strayed further and further from what made them great. Setting aside pop riffs with a rock edge for mind numbingly boring lullabies that came off more as half assed attempts at radio hits rather than the sing along pop greatness that we had grown to love.
From the very first song on “Plans”, I knew it was time to put Death Cab “out to pasture.” I only needed a few more songs to realize that they had lost their touch for writing great songs. The first single “Soul Meets Body” fails to develop into anything more than a drab tale of inner turmoil, suffering from the same formulaic mess that has plagued Ben Gibbards writing lately, of feeling over substance. What differs this album from the previous four is that there is not at least one track that reminds us of the great band that they used to be. Each song becoming more forgettable than the last, it was not until the tenth song “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” that my inclination to listen again was sparked. The spark died quickly when I reminded myself of how useless the previous nine songs had been, and how painful it would be to listen to it all again. I am sure this record will sell thousands of copies, probably to the same people who put them on the O.C. but when the band fizzles out much like Jimmy Eat World, do you want to be there with this cd in hand?