Emergency & I came out 26 Oct 1999. It is The Dismemberment Plan's third LP chronologically speaking, and it's arguably the band's most famous, best-liked record as well. The now-defunct DeSoto imprint lovingly supported this band's intelligent and sophisticated art-punk sound on this album with a cleaner production level than prior LPs. This brought more attention to this group's ability to rock, write a good tune, and tickle your brain with complexities they brought above and beyond other grou...
Emergency & I came out 26 Oct 1999. It is The Dismemberment Plan's third LP chronologically speaking, and it's arguably the band's most famous, best-liked record as well. The now-defunct DeSoto imprint lovingly supported this band's intelligent and sophisticated art-punk sound on this album with a cleaner production level than prior LPs. This brought more attention to this group's ability to rock, write a good tune, and tickle your brain with complexities they brought above and beyond other groups of their time.
The record's fame came from a - relative to now - rather new source of music news: there was a heavy amount internet buzz starting prior to the album's release. Especially from the online magazine Pitchforkmedia, as they even placed the record their first list for Top 100 Records of the 90s before October was over and the record was available for purchase. They justified this so-claimed audacity with hyperbole, calling them "The Next Incarnation of the Talking Heads" among other things.
While it is certainly logical to leap back to refer to The Dismemberment Plan's indebtedness to Talking Heads, they bore more similarities to some post-grunge era bands that adopted the post-punk palette of Gang of Four with even more erratic tempos and occasional forays into electronica-influenced sounds. Brainiac is probably a more apt comparison to the Plan, as they're roughly of the same era.
On Emergency & I, The Plan scaled back some of the sheer, atonal chaos that marked their previous effort ...Is Terrified, while streamlining their musical ideas into very digestible, very catchy pop nuggets. And yet, it's pop without the connotation of thrown-away predictability and sap; this is complex stuff, full of startlingly original ideas and themes which the band members skillfully attack all over this record. Singer-songwriter Travis Morrison explores postmodern themes and subject matter with a bright tenor and an ear for an odd but sugar-sweet melody. Their drummer was evidently trained in dance/jungle styles, and his rhythmic prowess manifests in a broad spectrum on pretty much every track, with inventive guitar lines and monstrous bass from the other players leaning into the cut at all times.
But as before, The D-Plan wants you to have something unique: this is not just your ordinary pop music. Not ALL of the chaos is gone yet. You'll be surprised when you get a song like I Love A Magician stuck in your head with it's three-note frenetic whirlwind of wailing guitar and static. Or, one day you'll have the off-kilter but beautiful sound of Spider in the Snow on your mind.. This album really does stick with you, rewarding repeated listens. It's one of those albums that, from start to finish, has got something to love from the moment you push play until the disc stops. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
