Death Cab For Cutie – “Soul Meets Body” 7”
Atlantic, 2005
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2012
Price: $1.50
I’ve got a special place in my heart for Death Cab For Cutie’s
major label debut. Though Plans was
nowhere near as cohesive as Transatlanticism,
which is now proving to be the bands high watermark, Plans had a lot more joy in it. And a way better lead single (does
everyone hate “The Sound of Settling” as much as me or is that just me?). “Soul
Meets Body” isn’t a great song either, it’s just that much better than the
goddamn “Sound of Settling.” I feel like there was a big inside joke amongst my
small group of friends where we would just launch into that Bah BAH bit from
the chorus and all cringe. “Soul Meets Body” is only way better by comparison. “Crooked
Teeth” and “Marching Bands of Manhattan” are both little masterieces and “I
Will Follow You into the Dark,” despite all its sentimentalism and present and
future relegation to high school mixtapes (What do the kids do now when they
like each other? Spotify playlists?), is still a totally fucking beautiful
song. “Soul Meets Body” is safe. It is the easiest distillation of the bands
talents into one, massively appealing and bland nugget for the buying public.
There’s nothing really nothing about it other than the fact that it’s wholly inoffensive
and perfectly boring. The b-side, “Jealousy Rides With Me,” is another snoozy
track that ambles through it’s nice melody and arrangement with absolutely no
stakes. It’s bizarre to realize that Death Cab For Cutie has been Popular for
ten years, and that Plans is eight
years old. It’s also bizarre to realize how little my opinion has changed about
this band, this album and this song.
"Soul Meets Body"
"Jealousy Rides With Me"
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