Emergency & I [2LP Orange] Vinyl

Emergency & I is indie rock that could not decide whether to dance, panic or weep and did all three brilliantly, now on 2LP orange vinyl.

Released in 1999, it was the third album from the Dismemberment Plan, and the one where Travis Morrison's twitchy, funny, devastated lyrics met a rhythm section that treated post-hardcore like a dance floor. Eric Axelson and Joe Easley borrowed grooves from hip hop and R&B, Jason Caddell's guitar jabbed and sparkled around them, and the result sounded like nothing else coming out of DC. The band split in 2003 and later reunited, but this record only grew in stature in between.

What Do You Want Me to Say? finds Morrison at his most manic and endearing, The City turns urban loneliness into a hooky singalong, Back and Forth locks into a groove that never stops moving, and The Ice of Boston remains the cult favourite, funny and aching in equal measure.

More than twenty years on, the record still sounds startlingly alive, a masterclass in making anxiety danceable. Fans who have worn out the original will appreciate a fresh pressing, and anyone who missed it first time round has a lot of catching up to do. Orange vinyl is a fitting colour for something this restless.

Tracklist

1. A Life of Possibilities
2. Memory Machine
3. What Do You Want Me to Say?
4. Spider in the Snow
5. The Jitters
6. I ? a Magician
7. You Are Invited
8. Gyroscope
9. The City
10. Girl O'Clock
11. 8½ Minutes
12. Back and Forth
13. Extra Songs
14. The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich
15. Since You Died
16. Just Like You
17. The First Anniversary of Your Last Phone Call