5. Plans (2005)

Plans: platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated, and it truly feels like an indie band’s major-label debut. The band parted ways with Barsuk in 2004, albeit with blessings from its founder Josh Rosenfeld and the rest of the label, not to mention an arrangement to continue releasing vinyl via the indie. Transatlanticism was Death Cab’s first record to crack the Billboard 200, peaking impressively at 97, so the transition made sense. But Plans was not a complete departure from the Death Cab sound. “Your Heart Is An Empty Room” and singles “Soul Meets Body” and “Crooked Teeth” polished the increasing levels of gloss a little bit brighter, yet dulled the spirit of their riffs, with Walla going a bit more mainstream. Pop leanings should have come as no surprise, as the Postal Service’s Give Up had become Sup Pop’s best-selling record since Nirvana’s Bleach. The influence is clear on a track like “Different Names For The Same Thing,” which mutates from ambling rock into popcorn-kernel bursts of synths a la the Postal Service’s “Natural Anthem.” Their spirit remains intact on acoustic ditty “I Will Follow You Into The Dark,” featuring Gibbard’s narrative poetry, replete with romantic morbidity.