The Dismemberment Plan

It didn’t happen overnight, but after enough hard work yielded such masterpieces as 1997’s ... Is Terrified and 1999’s Emergency & I, Washington, D.C.’s the Dismemberment Plan was nothing less than one of the most exciting bands in rock, underground or otherwise. The Plan’s 1994 debut, !, rightfully sounded like the work of rank amateurs but offered enough XTC-meets-Fugazi charm to get the Travis Morrison-led band off the ground. By ... Is Terrified, The Plan had nailed its utterly unique combination of razor-sharp lyrics, schizophrenic rhythms, and cliche-free songwriting. Enter Interscope Records, which signed the band the following year but then gave it the boot after releasing just a single EP, The Ice Of Boston +3. Unfazed, The Plan went right back to hometown label Desoto and continued to push the creative envelope on Emergency & I and its 2001 follow-up, Change.

Album reviews

Change
Desoto (2001)
Change takes the Plan to the next level in every sense of the word. It's mature and serious without talking down to the audience, lyrically compelling without resorting to caricature or convoluted metaphors, and musically original in a way that very few rock bands -- underground or otherwise -- can equal at this late date.

Emergency & I
Desoto (1999)
A record that boasts just as much grist for contemplation as its predecessors and a challenging listen that makes a real impact over time.

'The Ice Of Boston + 3' EP
Interscope (1998)
While waiting (in vain, it later turned out) for the release of its major-label debut album for Interscope, the Dismemberment Plan uncorked The Ice Of Boston +3 EP, providing a glimpse at the direction the group had been heading musically throughout 1998.

The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified (Recommended)
Desoto (1997)
A milestone of late '90s indie rock -- an album that is probably destined to remain critically underappreciated despite its mind-blowing erasure of all boundaries between genres.

!
DeSoto (1995)
The Plan's first album will help you appreciate the band's amazing progress toward becoming one of the most unique post-punk bands of our era.

Interviews

When It's Time To Change...
November 1, 2001
A couple of weeks prior to the Oct. 23 release of Change, NATN Associate Editor Jonathan Cohen caught up with Dismemberment Plan leader Travis Morrison, who had just finished a lengthy interview with a Japanese magazine.

Changing The Topic...Once Again
April 8, 2001
Travis Morrison of the Dismemberment Plan checks in to give NATN the scoop on the Plan's upcoming fourth record.

What Do You Want Me To Say?
March 13, 2000
D-Plan's Travis Morrison holds forth to NATN about the group's third album and being dropped from a major label.

Features

Travis speaks to NATN in 1999
Published September 8, 1999
Terrified? Confused? Not at all.