(Basurk)
Travis Morrison had a lot riding on his first release, the (seemingly) egomaniacally titled His old band, Dismemberment Plan, was on a two-album streak of utter brilliance and then... they broke up? A collective gasp was heard in the indie-rock community when the nervy, danceable, new-wave influenced Plan made the announcement. It seemed so incomprehensible for so many music fans to discover this incredible band only to have them taken away shortly after. The shadow of the Plan must have loomed large during the recording process of , but it sounds like it didn't phase our stalwart songwriter. The \Holy Plan ghost's"" presence (thanked in the liner notes) is felt on the album, but, to the possible disappointment of all those Plan-heads, Travis Morrison seems more interested in looking forward. Fortunately, this solo venture has passed as something decidedly unique.
Travis has gone on record saying that he is indiscriminant when it comes to the genres he listens to; Squarepusher, A Tribe Called Quest, and Lynyrd Skynyrd are all groups that come up. This m??lange of genres is what made the Plan unique, and Travis continues in this vein, but goes about it in a different fashion. First, electric guitars, sounding a bit less jagged, now share the stage with a great deal of acoustic playing. This works well, letting Morrison's extremely unique, earnest voice and vitriol-filled lyrics come through more clearly. The four-part ""Get Me off This Coin"" benefits greatly from this approach.
Except on the two most overtly Plan-sounding tracks, ""Born in '72"" and ""Change"" (both written while the band was still together), the band's huge dub-inflected bass and the complex drumming have been toned down in favor of rudimentary piano-playing, inventive use of samples and, surprisingly, a string section. On ""Angry Angel."" Morrison strays further from his punk roots than ever, making for a jarring listen the first time through. Just pianos, Travis' staunch pacifist lyrics, his reedy singing, and a full string section make up this minimalist piece. His voice, unfortunately, doesn't lend itself to balladry like this, but respect must be given to the man for trying. Besides ""Angel,"" the rest of the album goes with a more lo-fi, Dust-Brothers kitchen sink production style which is effective.
The music, then, is quite good. But it's Travis' lyrics that hold everything together. Covering topics as diverse as getting one's ass kicked (""My Two Front Teeth, Part 2""), the president's bastardization of Christian morality (""The Word Con""), racial profiling (""Born in '72), and his grandfather (the awkward ""Che Guevara Poster""), Morrison plows through these and more with much flare and insight. Travis makes it clear who he's not voting for this election, but all the Bush bashing is done intelligently (""Who told you life's either/or now? They surely lied!"") and, once in awhile, with good doses of biting humor. On the first two parts of ""Get Me Off This Coin,"" Travis is speaking in the voice of Abe Lincoln and George Washington, both asking for their visages not reproduced on their coins anymore, ""'cause [they] don't like either side.""
stands on its own merits, not so much overcoming the legacy of Morrison's ex-band, but side-stepping it. He's put together an extremely cohesive album that remains so despite being stylistically all-over-the-map, but still energetic and catchy. Travis Morrison's lyrical world is filled with contradictions and grey areas, brilliant highs with lows punctuated through out; strength is in matching this multi-faceted prose with equally emotive and shifting, innovative music. The Plan will be missed, but Morrison's first solo outing shows big potential.
-Adam Dylewski
