Search - Dismemberment Plan :: The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified

Lots of fun.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 10/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Make no mistake: the Dismemberment Plan's name may evoke a gruesome death metal band, but they are one of the most fun groups I've heard. They have a spontaneous eclecticism like Faith No More, but also an ear for tuneful complexity and pixilated chops. In mentioning Faith No More, I must aver that DP doesn't actually sound like FNM. Instead, the Dismemberment Plan lays out an attack of hyperactive vocals, catchy but noisy indie-rock, odd-time signatures, provocative and/or weird lyrics, and exuberant experimentalism filtered through songwriting chops and skilled arrangements.You'll hear atonal horns on "One Too Many Blows to the Head", screaming twisted-metal riffs on "Academy Award", the willfully abrasive nuclear waltz rock-out "Tonight We Mean It", and Travis Morrison, the singer, runs the gamut between screaming to rapid-fire jabbering. Frightened? Don't be. Here is a band that's raw and obnoxious at one moment only to be extremely lyrical and melodic the next. "This Is the Life"'s verses stutter on the displaced beat of drums with a catchy synth repeating "bu-beep" over and over. The melodic chorus is layered with a whistling synth that creates a really catchy effect. "The Ice of Boston" shuffles with Morrison's New Year's narrative and catchy, melancholy chorus. And quite often hooks are embedded in the entire package. "Academy Award" throws down the catchiest odd-metered riff you're going to hear anywhere. "It's So You" is heavy, mushy funk with big hooks to grab. The anthemic rock sound of "Manipulate Me" is broken up by irregular, discordant guitars that sound like a factory breaking down. "Respect Is Due" ends the album with a cool 12 minutes of lyrical guitar playing, subtle humming organ, and groovy rhythmic stuff. Overall, I'd rank this one a little lower than DP's _Emergency & I_, although this one is quite a bit noisier and crazier. The Dismemberment Plan's chameleon-like style is an unhindered attack of hooks and intensity that is so successful I'd say this is one of my favorite bands from the last 10 years or so. Anyhow, both are great albums and I recommend them. I have to buy the other DP albums still, but they are probably good."

Insane

A. Temple | Ann Arbor, MI | 09/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Given the splash 1999's _Emergency & I_ made in the indie world, it's very hard to evaluate the Dismemberment Plan's previous album, _The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified_, on its own merits. Comparisons have to be made: _Is Terrified_ is rawer, noisier, more atonal, more experimental, less catchy, less melodic... essentially, _Emergency & I_ is the bizarre rock of _Is Terrified_ distilled into tuneful pop song form. This is not unusual: many indie rock bands will at some point release an album that critics declare more "mature" or "refined" than their previous work. What that doesn't tell anyone is whether the earlier, less refined work is any good.Well, let me tell you: _Is Terrified_ rocks. From the opening, any Plan fan will recognize Travis Morrison's pitter-patter vocals and sardonically intellectual lyrics ("Leave your context at home and check your irony at the door"). By the time I heard him sputter "I know everybody here would love to get down and wipe the slate clean and do what they want and say what they mean and eliminate the, uh, existential, uh, quandaries of, uh, modern, uh, postmodern, uh, reality... ya dig?" at near-Micro-Machines speed, I was hooked. Irregular time signatures abound: "Academy Award" starts with drums playing a regular 4/4 against a guitar line that switches between 5/8 and 3/4 every measure. The band's sense of texture is, as usual, amazing, from the gritty synth playing the bassline of "That's When The Party Started" to the repeated plinking of one note in the right speaker on "This Is The Life", from the sudden entry of the guitars to support the choruses of "It's So You" to the crunchy groove underlying the verses of "Bra".Strangely, although I always wished _Emergency & I_ could've been more experimental, it's just that lack of poppiness that keeps this album from being truly great. Although I thoroughly enjoy the album, and although the songs do stick in my head, I sometimes find myself missing the wonderful melodies that I know the band is capable of. Most of the vocals here are spoken, chanted or shouted, and the catchiest tunes (the choruses of "That's When The Party Started" and the verses of "Manipulate Me", for example) are much simpler and less sophisticated than a song like "Memory Machine". The other problem with _Is Terrified_ is that it occasionally crosses the line from rawness or silliness into obnoxiousness. The best example of this is "One Too Many Blows to the Head", whose screamy vocals and belligerent theme threaten to get on my nerves unless I remember that there's an atonal brass section just around the corner.Enough of this criticism, though! Overall, the album is wonderful, and anyone interested in this band or this style of music should own a copy."

Plantastic!!!

analog andy | Lafayette LA | 05/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"its pretty hard to decide which cd of theirs is the best, because they're all fantastic in different ways, but I find this one offers the most pleasing blend of the band's earlier, guitar-driven punk-noise rock and their later, keyboard driven esoteric music found on Emergency & I. everything this band touches is gold... there's no reason not to like them."