The Dismemberment Plan Album: “Emergency & I”

Okay. I'd heard about the Plan. I read the reviews, and reacted with more than just a little skepticism when many hailed this record as nothing less than the start of a new era in rock (that's basically a quote from one professional reviewer). Despite the skepticism, I had to hear it, so I ordered it. Turns out it arrived on the same day as the new Smashing Pumpkins record that I'd been witing for for months. The Pumpkins are one of my absolute favorite bands. I love their work. But this album blew the Pumpkins out of the water yesterday. I have never heard anything like it. It is eating my head. I've become, in the last 24 hours, an absolute missionary for the Dismemberment Plan. I have e-mailed ALL of my musically oriented friends and ordered them under pain of death to buy this CD. You should too. It's too brilliant to be allowed to slip into obscurity. If you don't believe me, you can listen to the ENTIRE album on Real Audio at the band's website and I suggest that you do. I'm done ranting now.

Like crack, it keeps you coming back for more; otherwise you experience an unpleasant withdrawal. _Emergency & I_ is irresistible indie eclecticism inflected with a pop sensibility for a package that's catchy and diverse enough to hook you, with super-tight chops, reams of lyrical cleverness, and instrumental intricacies to entrance you for months afterwards. Not to mention they make some of the most effective euse of synths in rock. I've found it very difficult to get this one out of my CD player...just when I think it's starting to lose its luster, I return to it and get hooked all over again.

Compared to _The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified_, this is a considerably less wild n' crazy n' noisy album. There are still some pretty wacky tracks though: the brilliantly catchy and atonal rock of "Memory Machine", the mad rhythm-and-vocal freakout of "Girl O'Clock", and the short, dissonant and weird "I (love) a magician". The more 'normal' tracks (which are still brilliantly written and clever) adopt the band's intelligent use of synths and limitless supply of hooks. There's "You are Invited" is a charming anthem about self-acceptance, delivered with a cheesy synth-drum beat and vocal narrative. "The City" is also great, shuffling on its glistening high-hat beat and huge synth hook. "Gyroscope" is fiendishly catchy, with a snappy syncopated drum beat and a wicked hook in the chorus. "A Life of Possibilities" opens with clomping bass line and dynamic vocals, then goes to a chirping guitar line in the instrumental chorus. The song builds through its sections, always returning to its delicious main hook at the opportune moments, until the anthemic power-chord finale. The sorta-ballad "The Jitters" is a melancholic, languid piece that makes you feel all weird, especially if you read along to the lyrics.

This is very highly recommended to all sorts. The Dismemberment Plan's electicism and sterling songcraft is a rare thing in this world. I find it hard to imagine people not liking this band. Oh, and the pictures in the liner notes are CRAZY. Yeah, go buy it.

i like this CD a lot. i downloaded it a few weeks ago, i know that i'm seriously behind the times. this is a band where the vocals make/break the experience for the listener. i've read a lot of the reviews here and they're pretty dichotomous: you either love or hate this album. the singer can be anywhere from coy to well... coy i guess. the lyrics all seem like they were delivered with a sort of smile and an unspoken request not to take them too seriously. i think that people CAN take music too seriously sometimes as well as art. i don't understand how someone could listen to a song that proclaims a lack of sex is going to lead to a nervous breakdown (girl o'clock) and still say the lyrics are "pretentious" and "poorly-written". musicians are people, they want to have fun, they have a sense of humor. this band is really unique, extremely fun and what can i say... i think we all know the Plan makes you want to open that car door in a freeway traffic jam and put some moves on the other gaping drivers.

i don't know what to compare this band to, i try not to bother with that. there's a lot of different elements in this from pop and punk, indie and even some jazz, grunge. but it's more of a well-crafted junk sculpture than a pile of dissonant crap. give it a spin, it's a really good CD.

I bought this on the recommendation of some friends. On first listen I could see the potential, but thought it might take a few listens to grow on me.

Second listen I found myself getting into it. After the third listen I had to listen to it again: RIGHT AWAY! The musicians are all very accomplished, playing intertwining lines within the context of odd and shifting time signatures. This all sounds like Rush or something, but it's far more than an excercise in virtuosity. The songs all have real heart, yet without being schmaltzy.

Every time I listen to "The City" I get chills when, at the end of the song, Travis sings, "All... I... ever... say... now... is...good... byeeeeeeee!!!!" Oooh, chills now just hinking about it. And "What Do You Want Me To Say?" will stick in your head for days on end. I can't get enough.

This is one of the best discoveries I've made in a couple of years. If you're looking at this review, you obviously have interest. Buy it - now.

I saw the Plan a few years back in Michigan and was puzzled. I picked up a comp they were on and was hooked. I got addicted and fiended for their new releases. And now -- wow. What a wait for this record. The anticipation was rewarded, though -- I wasn't sure how the Plan could outdo "Is Terrified," but I think they came pretty darn close with "Emergency and I." Songs like "A Life of Possibilities," "Spider in the Snow," and "The Jitters" are polished and fully-crafted epics, leaving tunes like "What Do You Want Me To Say?" and "Gyroscope" to pick up on where "Soon To Be Ex-Quaker" and "The Love War" left me shaking and dancing in front of my stereo. Lots more synth here, too, proving their mastery and leaving all other organ-toting bands quaking at the throne of the Plan. Listen, get hooked, and find out how badly Interscope screwed up by letting them go.