The Dismemberment Plan
Emergency & I
»
The Dismemberment Plan
Emergency & I
Desoto, 1999
RiYL: Braniac, Joe Jackson, Fugazi, Shudder To Think, Jawbox |
Finally released on Washington D.C. label Desoto, Emergency finds the Plan taking the next logical step beyond its phenomenal, genre-bending 1997 effort ..Is Terrified, absorbing plenty from D.C. hardcore homies like Shudder, Fugazi, and Jawbox (ex-Jawbox mastermind J. Robbins produced this album). But the synthesis of the Plan's disparate sonic elements draws a definite dividing line. The poppy songs ("Spider In The Snow," the smily, Motown vibe and sing-along choruses of "Back And Forth," and the nearly perfect pop of "Gyroscope") are far more polished and melodic than on the band's first two records, but the use of dissonance and freaky time-signatures ("Memory Machine," the positively bizarre "I Love A Magician" and "What Do You Want Me To Say") is more pronounced than ever. Keyboards are everywhere, providing ample texture and even serving as the lead instrument on "The City."
In this way the record is somewhat unapproachable, because initially it doesn't seem like there are enough instances where the scales (pop vs. dissonance) are equal. Coupled with frontman Travis Morrison's increasingly dejected observations, Emergency does not make the immediate impact that ..Is Terrified did. However, it turns out that the record boasts just as much grist for contemplation as its predecessors, a challenging listen that makes a real impact over time.
Emergency is a record about taking stock of your surroundings, about taking a good look inside and not being afraid to be disgusted by what you see. As usual, Morrison's biting wit imbibes the lyrics with familiar characters and scenarios. On "The City," a groove that one wishes would go on forever is set behind the kind of "I'm stuck here without you" -- longing to which anyone with a beating heart can probably relate. On "8 1/2 Minutes," he seizes on the impending Armageddon to corner an ex-lover into admitting her true feelings. And on "Memory Machine," he looks to technology as a way to "cure the longing," imagining a device "to wax our hearts to a blinding sheen / to wash away the grief."
Even when Morrison is retreading familiar themes, as in "You Are Invited" (the party invitee who is suspicious of his host's motives has been covered before), the accompanying music picks up the slack. In this case, it's a gurgling electronic beat that builds into gorgeous, full-band breakdown.
Not everything works, however. "Girl O'Clock" might have a deeper meaning than its apparent sexual frustration, but lines such as "if I don't have sex by the end of the week, I'm going to die" are a bit hard to swallow, even if they're meant sarcastically. Milking the dissonance for all its worth, "I Love A Magician" is so completely grating that it might even wear on diehard Plan listeners.
The bottom line: Emergency & I is more than worth the wait. True, it's not as consistently engaging as ..Is Terrified. But even the Plan at its most mediocre is superior to most of its rock colleagues. And few acts in recent years can craft music that, at once, makes you want to shake your rear and dust off your own personal memory machine. This one's a keeper.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"