Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I

Dismemberment Plan
Emergency & I
1999

Why am I writing about this record? [LINK]

This suggestion was sent to me by a 'new, old' acquaintance. I have an amazing anecdote about this friend, but that will have to wait for another time. So, let's just jump right in! It starts off aggressively saccharine in a weird jane’s addiction kind of way. Around the middle of the first track ‘Life of POssibilities,’ there is a change in texture that hints there might be something more to come. The bass transforms into a flapping tire and stays there, fluctuating on the edge of intonation in a pleasant way.

Track 2, “Memory Machine” - immediately detours from any kind of pandering pop with a delicious crystalline structure of guitar noises, distortion and a perfectly placed organ that is often the secret ingredient in a sound like this. And again, at the end, this structure is pushed to its limit with a mantra of driving madness.

By Track 3 - “What Do You Want Me To Say?” I think I understand what to expect from the sound of this record. Typical late 90’s alternative rock melodic hooks dressed up with an aggressive garage punk aesthetic. Notice I did NOT say ‘pop-punk’ because it isn’t exactly punk rock by rhythmic or format definition. But there is a gritty, reckless approach to the arrangements that are dripping with an authentic desire to distance themselves from the established vocabulary of pop-rebel music.

Each track seems to start with an invitation to get comfortable. The melodies are cushy, the guitars and warm and the lyrics are just off-kilter enough to hold your attention. But then as the songs unfold, a collection of ‘other sounds’ begin to invade the space until at some point during a bridge or outro, you find yourself completely encased within a chrysalis of cacophony. Brief respites of this theme such as ‘The Jitters’ only serve to build a stronger more cohesive structure as this precedes ‘I Love A Magician’, which starts out directly in high gear.

There is an element of using competing instrument ‘noises’ as ‘percussion’. That is, less attention is paid to the tonality and harmony of individual parts than is to how they fit together in a rhythmic puzzle. This can be seen in other major avenues of thought emerging around this time from places like Omaha/Saddle Creek and in particular, I’m thinking of a band like Cursive.

I can also see slight parallels with Dubstep which would not emerge for another 10 years or so. Mainly I’m thinking of how noise and distortion are used in polyrhythmic combinations to create undeniable grooves.

‘You Are Invited’ begins with the kind of tension I’ve come to expect from this album already. An almost 80’s drum machine loop punctuated by a single Casio keyboard sound on every other & of 4. This creates a rhythm that is easy to bob your head along to, but unless you are paying attention that little ‘catch’ keeps you on your toes. A swirl of ambiance threatens to overflow into more of that catchy chaos, but this track stays reserved except for a straight-produced pop bridge. For me, the payoff was not here. I could have done without the middle section.

I know that the term ‘emo’ is a trigger word. I’ve seen analyses of the genre that place it’s origins back in the ’80s and there are internet rumors that this style of music still exists today. For me, ‘emo’ became part of the ‘consciousness of music’ sometime around 2000. While I know that there is nothing more dangerous for a critic to do than mislabel any band emo. I’m going to say that this band could be prototypical of the style.

I just did a quick Wikipedia search for a list of emo bands and I see this one is on there. So I feel relatively safe saying that. However, also on this list are Death Cab and Weezer. Both of which I have heard many passionate and near-violent arguments over when it concerns the label of ‘emo’.

It doesn’t matter. I probably should have left the whole emo thing out of it. It’s good music, that’s all. ‘Gyroscope’ has a shimmering vocal effect that made me stop everything and just listen. That’s all I really want out of music, anyway. Do something that forces me to listen. I'm more than willing to give any music my full attention. But only rarely does something DEMAND my attention. And this little vocal effect does just that. Beautiful.

‘The City’ has a vocal line that Brendon Urie would be proud of. ‘Girl O’ Clock’ sounds a little like the Rugburns trying to do Primus. Frantic Performance Art. I approve. And I know that a little record from 1999 is desperately seeking my approval in 2020. But I’m just saying that a track like this that has been around for 20 years and has less than half a million listens on Spotify is disappointing. It doesn’t look like people are digging into the depths of these cuts.

With a project like this, the last tracks are often the best. Remember this was released on a CD. [insert sarcastic description of what a CD is to assert snarky generational authority] - When a band like this hits the groove, They don’t put the ‘worst’ tracks towards the end as most people believe. Some bands did that just to fill out a record back in the days (surely they don’t do that anymore!) but the energy here from the beginning was one of uncorked inspiration. So the last songs are going to be the most adventurous as the band, rightly, assumes that anyone listening this far is on board with the premise and is therefore willing to follow them all the way down the rabbit hole.

As far as rabbit holes go, this band is elbow deep and one can imagine some kind of Napoleonic frenzy of activity below the surface. A fuzzy piranha nest of teeth and fur. When the hand is pulled back, the remaining stump of the arm brings sudden inspiration. Dismemberment Plan. Warm and fuzzy until it isn’t. And then it really isn’t.

So, I just recently learned that Napolean was once set upon by a thundering stampede of violent rabbits, forcing his small army to retreat in terror. Hence that incredibly clever 'Napoleonic frenzy' line. My God, I really am just that good!  Check it out!