''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 Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, Virginia that has been in operation since the late 1970s. Originally started in founder Don Zientara's basement, the studio spent many years on South Oakland St. in Arlington. The s ...

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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. Lead singer

Travis Morrison Travis Morrison (born December 16, 1972) 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. ...

has called it his "night album," saying in an interview with '' Stylus Magazine'':

Reception and legacy

''Change'' was met with universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the album has an 83 out of 100 based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". 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." ''

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''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." Ted Alvarez of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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." Michael O'Brien of ''

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'', 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." Robert Christgau of ''

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'' gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure." ''Change'' was named the 14th best album of 2001 by ''Pitchfork''. The same website also placed the album at number 97 on its list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Change''Change - The Dismemberment Plan - Credits

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. Retrieved 17 June 2011

The Dismemberment Plan

* Eric Axelson – bass, keyboards * Jason Caddell –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, keyboards * Joe Easley – drums *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, guitar, keyboards

Additional personnel

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

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2001 albums The Dismemberment Plan albums DeSoto Records albums Albums produced by J. Robbins