''Change'' is the fourth studio album by
The Dismemberment Plan
The Dismemberment Plan was a Washington, D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy '' Ground ...
. It was released on October 23, 2001 on
DeSoto Records. It was recorded by
J. Robbins at
Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, Virginia that has been in operation since the late 1970s. Originally started in founder Don Zientara's basement, the studio spent many years on South Oakland St. in Arlington. The s ...
in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
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.
Lead singer
Travis Morrison
Travis Morrison (born December 16, 1972) is an American musician and web developer from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., United States. He is best known as leader of indie-rock band The Dismemberment Plan and as a solo artist.
...
has called it his "night album,"
saying in an interview with ''
Stylus Magazine'':
Reception and legacy
''Change'' was met with universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album has an 83 out of 100 based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
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."
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
''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."
Ted Alvarez of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
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."
Michael O'Brien of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'', 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
Quaalude
Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...
s." O'Brien also called the album "an enjoyable record, a necessary record in the evolution of the band, but far from an essential listen."
Robert Christgau of ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."
''Change'' was named the 14th best album of 2001 by ''Pitchfork''. The same website also placed the album at number 97 on its list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.
Track listing
Personnel
The following people contributed to ''Change''
[Change - The Dismemberment Plan - Credits](_blank)
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 17 June 2011
The Dismemberment Plan
* Eric Axelson –
bass,
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
* Jason Caddell –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, keyboards
* Joe Easley –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*
Travis Morrison
Travis Morrison (born December 16, 1972) is an American musician and web developer from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., United States. He is best known as leader of indie-rock band The Dismemberment Plan and as a solo artist.
...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, guitar, keyboards
Additional personnel
* Bill Barbot - Label Design
* Chad Clark - Mixing
* Kim Coletta - Label Design
* J. Robbins - Engineer
See also
*
List of works in irregular time signatures
This is a list of musical compositions or pieces of music that have unusual time signatures. "Unusual" is here defined to be any time signature other than simple time signatures with top numerals of 2, 3, or 4 and bottom numerals of 2, 4, or 8, a ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2001 albums
The Dismemberment Plan albums
DeSoto Records albums
Albums produced by J. Robbins