Plans

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 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. Background 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. Their overseas distribution was complex, with at least seven indie imprints handling their albums in different countries. By the time the group issued their third 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. 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.