Change (The Dismemberment Plan album)

Change
Studio album by The Dismemberment Plan
Released October 23, 2001
Recorded Inner Ear Studios
Genre Indie rock
Math rock
Length 47:12
Label DeSoto Records
Producer Chad Clark, J. Robbins
The Dismemberment Plan chronology

Emergency & I
(1999)		 Change
(2001)		 A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan
(2003)

Change is an album by The Dismemberment Plan. It was released on October 23, 2001 on DeSoto Records. It was recorded by J. Robbins at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia and it was mixed by Chad Clark.

Musical style

Compared to The Dismemberment Plan's previous album Emergency & I, Change is more somber musically, with more introspective lyrics.[1][2] Lead singer Travis Morrison has called it his "night album,"[1] saying in an interview with Stylus Magazine:

“ [...] I think late-night records tend to [...] have much more carefully modulated dynamics, they tend, whatever the dynamics are they’re not trying to beat you over the head with a point. They’re trying to provide a space you can kind of enter and roam around a little bit. And, uh, yeah, that’s what I think of when I think of late-night records. Like Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell, or any Portishead, or Kid A [...] Or Remain In Light by Talking Heads [...] you can either completely envelop yourself in it, or you can let it kind of burble away in the corner and do your thing—uh, usually I kind of opt for the former, 'cause they’re so compelling. But they're challenging records to make, 'cause they may just bore everybody, it’s quite possible.[3] ”

Reception and Legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Pitchfork Media (8.6/10)link
Sputnikmusic link
Stylus Magazine B+ link
Tiny Mix Tapes link

Change has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has an 83 out of 100 based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[4]

Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine called the album more focused than Emergency & I, writing, "With Change, however, The Dismemberment Plan feel little need to show off with self-conscious musical ostentation and excess, instead choosing to focus themselves on making a fantastic, understated and involving record."[5] Pitchfork Media's founder Ryan Schreiber praised the album's more sentimental sound, writing "But metamorphosis can be a beautiful thing, and like the butterfly retains a part of the caterpillar, Change retains a part of the pre-mutated Dismemberment Plan. You see, they're still the same band they always were. They're just prettier now."[2] Ted Alvarez of Allmusic also commended the album's new sound, writing "It's difficult to chart the Dismemberment Plan's next move; their boundless creativity is their only fence. They could turn down an entirely new musical path, or they could always revisit their equally brilliant old territory. Either way, listeners are in for an original musical experience."[1]

Michael O' Brien of Popmatters, on the other hand, was less positive about the album's new sound, writing, "For anyone who loved Emergency & I, or any of The Dismemberment Plan's other two records, Change sounds like The Dismemberment Plan on Quaaludes." O' Brien also called the album, "an enjoyable record, a necessary record in the evolution of the band, but far from an essential listen."[6]

Change was named the 14th best album of 2001 by Pitchfork Media.[7] The same website also placed the album at number 97 on their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.[8]

Track listing

All music composed by Travis Morrison, Jason Caddell, Eric Axelson and Joe Easley.

No. Title Length
1. "Sentimental Man"   4:16
2. "The Face of the Earth"   4:46
3. "Superpowers"   4:48
4. "Pay for the Piano"   3:23
5. "Come Home"   5:05
6. "Secret Curse"   2:50
7. "Automatic"   4:16
8. "Following Through"   4:38
9. "Time Bomb"   4:24
10. "The Other Side"   3:45
11. "Ellen and Ben"   5:01

Personnel

The following people contributed to Change[9]

The Dismemberment Plan

Additional personnel

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alvarez, Ted. Change - The Dismemberment Plan. Allmusic. Retrieved 17 June 2011
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schreiber, Ryan. The Dismemberment Plan: Change. Pitchfork Media. 23 October 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2011
  3. ↑ Howard, Ed. Dismemberment Plan - Interview. Stylus Magazine. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 17 June 2011
  4. ↑ Change Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More at Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved 15 June 2011
  5. ↑ Southall, Nick. Dismemberment Plan - Change. Stylus Magazine. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  6. ↑ O' Brien, Michael. The Dismemberment Plan: Change. Popmatters. 21 October 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2011
  7. ↑ Pitchfork staff (1 January 2001). "The Top 20 Albums of 2001". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Pitchfork staff (September 30, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100-51". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  9. ↑ Change - The Dismemberment Plan - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 17 June 2011

External links