| Change | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 23, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Studio | Inner Ear Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:12 | |||
| Label | DeSoto Records | |||
| Producer | Chad Clark, J. Robbins | |||
| The Dismemberment Plan chronology | ||||
| ||||
Change is the fourth studio 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.
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]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Press | 8/10 [5] |
| The Boston Phoenix |  [6] |
| Consequence | A− [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [8] |
| NME | 8/10 [9] |
| Paste | 9.0/10 [10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Stylus Magazine | 8.8/10 [12] |
Change was met with universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website 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." [12] Pitchfork '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." [13] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, [14] indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure." [15]
Change was named the 14th best album of 2001 by Pitchfork. [16] The same website also placed the album at number 97 on its list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s. [17]
Although not released as a single, a music video for "Time Bomb" was released in 2001 and was included the following year in the first Xbox Exhibition demo disk, part of a series released by Microsoft to promote upcoming Xbox titles and featuring music from independent acts. [18] [19] [20]
All music is 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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "B.T.A. (Mislabeled as "BTW")" | |
| 13. | "Academy Award (Cex Remix)" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "What Do You Want Me To Say?" | 4:18 |
| 13. | "B.T.A." | 0:57 |
| 14. | "Crush (Mislabeled as "The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich")" | 6:15 |
The following people contributed to Change [21]
Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.
Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 30 May 2001 by EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. It was recorded with the producer Nigel Godrich in the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000); Radiohead split the work in two as they felt it was too dense for a double album. As with Kid A, Amnesiac incorporates influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. The final track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with the jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.
Edward John O'Brien is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB.
Since I Left You is the debut studio album by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches, released on 27 November 2000 by Modular Recordings. It was produced by group members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, and samples extensively from various genres. The album was recorded and produced at two separate, near-identical studios by Chater and Seltmann, exchanging audio mixes of records they sampled.
Cex is an American musical project run by Rjyan Claybrook Kidwell and started in 1998 at the age of 16. Although Cex and Kidwell are frequently used interchangeably, Cex occasionally expands to several people at sporadic points, such as particular tours or albums. In the past it has included Kidwell's musical associates, friends, touring partners, or high school bandmates.
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 Groundhog Day. The band members included Eric Axelson (bass), Jason Caddell (guitar), Joe Easley (drums), and Travis Morrison. Axelson, Caddell, Morrison and original drummer Steve Cummings formed the band in college, knowing each other from attending northern Virginia high schools. Cummings left the band after the recording of their debut album ! and was replaced by Easley, cementing the band's lineup.
Emergency & I is the third studio album by American indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan, released in 1999 by DeSoto Records. It was produced by J. Robbins and Chad Clark. At its release, the album was met with critical acclaim.
You Forgot It in People is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene, released on October 15, 2002. It was the band's commercial breakthrough. You Forgot It in People features intricate, experimental production techniques and a large number of instruments coinciding with the band's vastly expanded size. Local excitement for the album was so big that initial pressings sold out quickly, causing the need for a 2003 reissue.
Maritime is an American indie pop band formed in 2003 after the breakup of The Promise Ring and The Dismemberment Plan.
Get Up with It is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. Released by Columbia Records on November 22, 1974, it compiled songs Davis had recorded in sessions between 1970 and 1974, including those for the studio albums Jack Johnson (1971) and On the Corner (1972). In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine described the compilation's music as "worldbeat fusion".
Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1, usually referred to simply as Piracy Funds Terrorism, is a mixtape produced by British recording artist M.I.A. and American DJ Diplo featuring vocal tracks intended for M.I.A.'s debut album Arular mashed up with samples of other recordings. The mixtape was produced by the two artists at Diplo's home studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was not officially released, but was distributed at M.I.A.'s live shows and via the internet to promote the release of her much-delayed debut album. Despite its unofficial status, the mixtape received general acclaim among critics. Several music publications included the mixtape in their listings of the best albums of 2004.
Rounds is the third solo album by British electronic musician Kieran Hebden, released under his alias Four Tet on 5 May 2003 by Domino Recording Company. Wanting to make a more personal record, Hebden recorded and produced the album in his North London flat over ten months using a desktop computer and a home hi-fi system. Its ten tracks feature elements of hip hop, jazz and folk; apart from a guitar part recorded for "Slow Jam", the music is composed from between 200 and 300 samples, many processed beyond recognition.
Travis Morrison 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.
Travistan is Travis Morrison's solo debut album, released in 2004 by Barsuk Records. The record is named after the van that Morrison rode in during his former band The Dismemberment Plan's last tour.
! is the debut studio album by American indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan. It was released on October 3, 1995 on DeSoto Records. The band's original drummer Steve Cummings played on the album but left shortly after its release.
The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified is the second studio album by American indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan. It was released on March 17, 1997 on DeSoto Records. Musically, the album is "less violent and less extravagant" than its predecessor, !. The album received positive reviews from critics, and got the band to sign with major record label Interscope.
This Island is the third and final album by American dance-punk band Le Tigre. It was released by Universal Records on October 19, 2004. The album was the band's only one for a major label and reached number 130 on the Billboard 200. As of 2008, the album had sold 90,000 copies.
All Y'All is Travis Morrison's second solo album, credited to the Travis Morrison Hellfighters. It was released on August 21, 2007 by Barsuk Records.
Uncanney Valley is the fifth and final studio album by American indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan. The album was released on Partisan Records on October 14, 2013, and is the band's first album since their initial break-up following the release of 2001's Change. Three singles from the album were released on streaming services prior to the album's release: "Waiting", "Invisible", and "Daddy Was a Real Good Dancer". The release of the lead single "Waiting" was teased with a promotional phone line that when dialed would play the song in low audio quality; the song would later receive a music video on October 16.
White Blood Cells is the third studio album by American rock duo the White Stripes, released on July 3, 2001. The album was recorded in less than one week at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, and was produced by frontman and guitarist Jack White. It was the band's final record released independently on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album explores themes of love, hope, betrayal, and paranoia, which were inspired by the increased media attention the group were receiving.
