Seattle rockers Death Cab for Cutie [ tickets ] return with a new album later this month, and will back it with a lengthy round of North American tour dates.

The outing opens Oct. 3 with a two-night stand in Vancouver, British Columbia, and currently is scheduled to run through mid-November. Tickets for most shows go on sale Friday or Saturday (8/12 or 13), according to Atlantic Records. A limited number of tickets will be sold via a pre-sale; details are posted at Death Cab for Cutie's website.

After a long stretch with indie label Barsuk Records, Death Cab for Cutie [ tickets ] recently signed with Atlantic. The band drops "Plans," its first album for its new label, on Aug. 30. "Transatlanticism," the band's 2003 set, sold more than 330,000 copies, according to a press release.

Death Cab for Cutie has been extremely active over the last two years, appearing on last year's Vote for Change tour with Pearl Jam, touring the U.S. three times, and embarking on treks through Japan, Europe and Australia.

The group's spring 2004 tour is chronicled in the DVD "Drive Well, Sleep Carefully," directed by Justin Mitchell. The DVD includes 13 live songs, as well as backstage and interview footage.

On Sept. 27, the band makes its national television debut with an appearance on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."