Dismemberies can't wait

Dismemberment Plan aren't Terrified anymore

by Doug Wedge

Each month when the CMJ Music Monthly sampler comes out, I take a couple of listens through it to see if something,

anything, will let me know rock still has a pulse. After all, a mere 15 minutes of watching MTV or listening to your flavor-of-the-month radio station will suggest these are dark days.

The CMJ disc, supposedly an outlet for the best and brightest in new music, usually offers little relief. But after sifting through the usual raft of corporate rock and techno swill, along came the catchy, anthemic "What Do You Want Me To Say?" It immediately restored my faith. My saviors? Washington, DC's the Dismemberment Plan.

I grabbed the group's latest full-length, 1999's Emergency & I (DeSoto), and you should, too -- this is the best album that nobody has ever heard. Through a combination of Cars-inspired keyboards, bouncy vocal harmonies, and a few beats out of the norm, there's a sci-fi vibe here. Not Babylon 5: think Twilight Zone.

Take the constant "Red wire/Right temple, black wire/Left temple" mantra that leads off "Memory Machine." I asked lead vocalist Travis Morrison if there were any evil, scientific thoughts going into the making of the disc, to which he replied, "Uh . . . no. Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Although amused by the question, Morrison does admit to taking some lyrical inspiration from classic sci-fi authors like Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. "Most of the songs tend to deal a bit with alienation. Maybe, I'm just swapping scientific events for human events."

The band (who formed in 1993) didn't catch their first break until early 1997, when they signed with DeSoto Records, a DC-based label founded by ex-Jawbox (a much-loved DC hardcore band) members Kim Coletta and Bill Barbot. (J. Robbins, also formerly of Jawbox, produced Emergency & I.) After a handful of modest releases, Dismemberment Plan landed a record deal with Interscope in 1998 and released the EP The Ice of Boston, named for a track off the group's second LP, 1997's The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified.

But the Plan's major-label days were short-lived. They were dumped from Interscope when the label merged with mega-media company Seagram, just months after Ice hit the shelves. Not that it mattered, according to Morrison: "I think Interscope released a total of 12 of those EPs."

The timing could have been better. The group had tracks for Emergency & I nearly in the can. DeSoto, though, was happy to step in.

What sets this record apart from Terrified is a strong pop sensibility, as opposed to the aural arithmetic heard on earlier releases. The album's most brilliant track, "You Are Invited," is a good example: it starts off with a robotic drumbeat and vocal melody, builds slowly, and then explodes into pure sonic satisfaction.

Morrison doesn't seem as impressed. "Yeah, we would just get together a couple of times a week for our regular practice session, and when we had the songs we wanted we went in and recorded it. In two months the whole thing was done. That's it."

The group will have plenty of opportunities to hone their live arrangements. Next month, they embark on a tour that will take them across the Midwest and along the East Coast; they end with a swing through Europe in July, where they'll open for no less than Pearl Jam.

"I have no idea how they even know about us," says Morrison, who made a few phone calls to make sure the gig wasn't a cruel joke. It wasn't.

During a recent show, bass player Eric Axelson took time to mock the opening riff from "Jeremy," indicating the Pearl Jam tour is something that excites the Dismemberment Plan, even as it makes them laugh.

That they landed such a high-profile gig at all, though, isn't surprising, especially in light of performances like last month's sold-out Middle East date. Not to take anything away from Mr. Soundman, but the sweet racket laid down by Morrison, Axelson, guitarist Jason Caddell, and drummer Joe Easley made the club's crappy upstairs sound system sound like my home stereo -- no small feat.

Lots of new material was showcased as well. Frankly, you need to see what you're missing, and, as it happens, you can do so this Saturday night at the Lucky Dog. Just don't yell out "Evenflow"!

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The Dismemberment Plan play at 8:30 p.m. April 29 at the Lucky Dog Music Hall. Tickets are $7. Call 363-1888.