Death Cab For Cutie Honors Mimi Parker With Somber Cover Of Low’s ‘The Plan’

Death Cab for Cutie shared a moving cover of Low’s “The Plan” in honor of Low drummer Mimi Parker who passed away last November. The recording appears on Death Cab For Cutie’s pending release Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic), which is a stripped-down reworking of their 2022 album, Asphalt Meadows.

Parker was born in the northern Minnesota town of Bemidji. She and future husband Alan Sparhawk launched Low in nearby Duluth in 1993. The couple remained constant members of the band while cycling through several different bass players. “The Plan” came out in 1996 on The Curtain Hits the Cast, the duo’s third album out of 13 they released.

DCFC frontman Ben Gibbard shared a statement regarding Parker, who was 55 years old when she died from cervical cancer. Gibbard wrote:

“I first saw Low in 1994 opening for Sunny Day Real Estate at the OK Hotel in Seattle. 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.”

Co-produced by Andy Park and DCFC, Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic), consisting of acoustic versions of all 11 original tracks and the Low cover, will be released on March 10. Stream “The Plan” as well as “Pepper (Acoustic)” from the forthcoming reworked album below:

Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) Tracklist

1. I Don’t Know How I Survive (Acoustic)
2. Roman Candles (Acoustic)
3. Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic)
4. Rand McNally (Acoustic)
5. Here to Forever (Acoustic)
6. Foxglove Through The Clearcut (Acoustic)
7. Pepper (Acoustic)
8. I Miss Strangers (Acoustic)
9. Wheat Like Waves (Acoustic)
10. Fragments From the Decade (Acoustic)
11. I’ll Never Give Up On You (Acoustic)
12. The Plan