Every once in a while, you come across a band so unique you become a missionary for their music. For a lot of people, including me, Dismemberment Plan is one of those bands.

Here's the drill. Believe the hype and stick with this CD; it takes several listens to get into it. Straight away, you'll be struck by a few songs, but overall the sound is so unusual, it can be off-putting. Don't give up-- albums like this continue to reveal something new each time you listen. Yes, it's a bit abstract, but there's a lot going on here. About half the songs are on the relatively accessible side-- pop music for a better, more creative world-- but the rest are dense, hyper-active and TENSE. There are loud-soft-loud passages, time and tempo changes, and out-of-tune keyboards furiously bleeping away, fronted by a singer who has a very appealing (if somewhat limited) voice. He comes across as sort of a sensitive spaz, joyously singing heart-breaking lyrics centered around some kind of a personal crisis (hence "Emergency & I").

What sealed the deal for me was seeing them live. You ever see a band that looks NOTHING like the picture in your head? This is 3 regular-looking slacker-dudes (probably college graduates) fronted by a dead-ringer for Hal Sparks from Talk Soup! You quickly realize this is his band, and this is his show. The singer has an awkward style, moves strangely, and just does not look like he should be fronting a rock band, let alone this one. Leaves you scratching your head wondering where in the heck his music comes from. However, he obviously feels an intense amount of joy when he performs these potentially awkward songs, which somehow makes it all work. I was just dumbfounded; this is one BRAVE guy. Trying to get all this complex, emotional, off-center stuff across to a room full of strangers, and just going for it as if their acceptance was never in doubt. Most bands like this are head-down, hair in face, barely acknowledging the audience. Not this guy, he's having the time of his life, as if all this weirdness is completely normal and right. It could all go horribly wrong at any moment, but in the end, you can't help rooting for him. There's a word for people like that-- genius!

I can't wait to see what they do next.

after all the britney spears and Smash Mouth's of the world have defiled, pop has become an awful world. Catchy, Inventive rock(Weezer,Nirvana,Green Day) once occupied that terms definition even if they were seperated into genres like alternative or punk, they were still pop. The Dismemberment Plan live under a set of rules that bands like Radiohead and The Pixies have been doing since the early 80's, taking pop, ripping it up and taping it up in the wrong places. Melodies and hooks that come from out in space and deep down in the ground and hit you without a hint. "Emergency and I" is an event. Something incredibly rare and amazing. Forget for a second that their misguided first album entitled "!" was a bunch of angry punk songs that shouldn't have happened in the first place. This album takes catchiness and pop rock to a level never imagined before. "A Life of Possibilities" opens the album with a swagger like a drunk with a limbo guitar hook that interrupts singer/guitarist Travis Morrison's ramblings that go on and on with not a hint of wanting to stop. The jauntiness that fuels the amazing "Girl O'Clock" lets the narrator actually voice how he feels about not having anyone to have sex with or even to kiss. The breathtaking "The Jitters" allows Morrison to show the true meaning of heartbreak and loneliness. Urgency powers the never stopping energy of "8 1/2 Minutes" and "I Love a Magician" that moves like a cheetah through Jason Caddell's guitar and Eric Axelson's bass while Travis' chameleon of a voice slithers in and out. "The City","What do you want me to say?" and "Gyroscope" are radio friendly rockers that never stop for a breath and let the word predictable go down in flames. "Spider in the Snow" and "You are Invited" lay back in the relaxing slumber of a Sunday afternoon and let the memory stir and smile. "Memory Machine" jumps with a sharpness that never lets you see what's coming around the next corner. The amazing closer "Back and Forth" creates a funky bow to tie up tha album under Axelson's amazing bass work and Joe Easley's impressive druming that never lets down the entire album. Under all the creativity and all the beauty the album is a pop masterpiece that screams for the days when pop was something to be proud of. Dismemberment Plan are a band that are waiting for the same praise that Radiohead have, truly inventive and beautiful. This is why music lives, this is why music fans listen, for something like "Emergency and I".

This is by far one of the best albums I own, and I own mayn albums. Ever since I got Emergency I haven't stopped listening to it. All the bad reviews are valid, because if you don't like this style you probably will hate the cd, don't look for a single, or a pop ballad, this is the dismemberment plan. This album is beautiful in every sense of the word. Buy it.

So the guy that gave it a one star review, only had the album for two days. This record (like a lot of great records) is a slow grower, it takes repeated listens to really enjoy. I remember the first time i listened to lonesome crowded west by the mouse, I felt ill. I didn't have a place in my brain for the sounds i was hearing. This record is sort of like that, in that it is tough to understand on the first spin.

Anywho, Emergency and I is a great album. Just repeat to yourself, "I must listen to this record 9 times before formulating an opinion or i will get syphilis." and you will be fine

After thinking about it for a while, i realized something. The Dismemberment Plan is really the perfect band. They tried as hard as possible to stay away from the muck that is the major label music industry, yet they were pretty well known and easily accessible. They were one of those bands that someone would tell you about, and youd buy their cd, and you would never regret it. They give you the feeling that you discovered something wonderful, and in a way, it belongs to you.

This CD is all of that and more. They allow you to ease in to their crazy sound with some straightforward songs like "the city" and "a life of possibilities." Yet the true genius lies in the more experimental songs. Gyroscope uses a time signature that i am not even going to try and figure out. "The Other Side" has chaotic bass and drums, but it all works together to create an incredibly mellow feeling. "You Are Invited" is my favorite on this cd. Its just the singer and a drum machine for most of the song, and its really all you need. I really reccomend that everyone gives this cd a listen. Even if you dont like this "genre" of music, you will definitely appreciate it for what its worth.