Death Cab for Cutie have unveiled a mournful cover of Low’s “The Plan” as a tribute to the late Mimi Parker. The song appears on a newly-announced acoustic version of their 2022 album Asphalt Meadows, from which the band have also shared a new rendition of “Pepper.” Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) is due out March 10th.
“I first saw Low in 1994 opening for Sunny Day Real Estate at the OK Hotel in Seattle,” DCFC’s Ben Gibbad said in a statement. “Since then, they’ve been one of the most influential and important bands of my life. It was the fulfillment of my teenage self’s indie rock dream when our bands became friends while on tour together in 2012. We were incredibly saddened by Mimi’s passing this past November. She was an incredible artist and an even better human being. We believe the best way to remember the musicians we lose is to play their songs. ‘The Plan’ has always been one of our favorite Low songs and is presented here in tribute to Mimi.”
Death Cab’s take on the song is just half-a-tick faster than the original, but maintains the purposeful cadence and lyrical reserve, which builds in power through repetition. “Can I hold it?” Gibbard sings over and over again, “Hold it for a week?”
“The Plan” is the only addition to the acoustic edition of Asphalt Meadows, which is Death Cab for Cutie’s best album since the Bush administration. Check out “The Plan” and “Pepper (Acoustic)” below.
You can catch Death Cab for Cutie on the road right now, and later this year they’ll be co-headlining with Gibbard’s other beloved band, The Postal Service. Tickets to all those dates are available here.
Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) Artwork:
Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) Tracklist:
01. I Don’t Know How I Survive (Acoustic)
02. Roman Candles (Acoustic)
03. Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic)
04. Rand McNally (Acoustic)
05. Here to Forever (Acoustic)
06. Foxglove Through the Clearcut (Acoustic)
07. Pepper (Acoustic)
08. I Miss Strangers (Acoustic)
09. Wheat Like Waves (Acoustic)
10. Fragments from the Decade (Acoustic)
11. I’ll Never Give Up on You (Acoustic)
12. The Plan
