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Change (The Dismemberment Plan album)

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Change
Studio album by
The Dismemberment Plan
ReleasedOctober 23, 2001
Recorded2001
StudioInner Ear Studios
Genre
Length47:12
LabelDeSoto Records
ProducerChad Clark, J. Robbins
The Dismemberment Plan chronology
Emergency & I
(1999) 		Change
(2001) 		Uncanney Valley
(2013)

Change is the fourth 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.

Musical style

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]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press8/10[5]
The Boston Phoenix[6]
Consequence of SoundA−[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
NME8/10[9]
Paste9.0/10[10]
Pitchfork8.6/10[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Stylus MagazineB+[12]

Change was met with universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregate site 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 their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.[17]

Track listing

All music is composed by Travis Morrison, Jason Caddell, Eric Axelson and Joe Easley

No.TitleLength
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
Japanese Edition
No.TitleLength
12."B.T.A. (Mislabeled as "BTW")" 
13."Academy Award (Cex Remix)" 
Australian Edition
No.TitleLength
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

Personnel

The following people contributed to Change[18]

The Dismemberment Plan

Additional personnel

  • Bill Barbot - Label Design
  • Chad Clark - Mixing
  • Kim Coletta - Label Design
  • J. Robbins - Engineer

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Alvarez, Ted. "Change – The Dismemberment Plan". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Schreiber, Ryan (October 23, 2001). "The Dismemberment Plan: Change". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  3. ^ Howard, Ed (September 1, 2003). "Dismemberment Plan – Interview". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Reviews for Change by The Dismemberment Plan". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  5. ^ "The Dismemberment Plan: Change". Alternative Press. No. 162. January 2002. pp. 82–83.
  6. ^ Wood, Mikael (January 17–24, 2002). "The Dismemberment Plan: Change (DeSoto)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Arroyo, Steven (November 7, 2014). "The Dismemberment Plan – Change [Reissue]". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Raftery, Brian M. (October 26, 2001). "Change". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  9. ^ Johns, Darren (October 16, 2001). "Dismemberment Plan: Changes". NME. Archived from the original on November 14, 2001. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  10. ^ Prado, Ryan J. (November 11, 2014). "The Dismemberment Plan: Change Reissue". Paste. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  11. ^ Catucci, Nick (2004). "Dismemberment Plan". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 243–44. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ^ a b Southall, Nick (September 1, 2003). "Dismemberment Plan – Change – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  13. ^ O'Brien, Michael (October 21, 2001). "The Dismemberment Plan: Change". PopMatters. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Dismemberment Plan: Change". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  16. ^ "Top 20 Albums of 2001". Pitchfork. January 1, 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. October 2, 2009. p. 6. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  18. ^ Change - The Dismemberment Plan - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 17 June 2011
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