Top 40 '90s albums, #29: The Dismemberment Plan — Emergency & I

Ah, a truly energizing album if there ever was one, although the energy often verges into something anxiety-ridden. The Dismemberment Plan’s Emergency & I feels frenetic, untethered. It feels like I’ve wandered into something deeply personal that’s somehow intended for my ears, but it’s never overwrought or

“A Life of Possibilities” opens with jumping vocals, a fuzzy bass, and stabs of guitar riffs. That this album dropped in 1999 is basically on full display — it’s right at the end of the decade and about to bridge into a new one. The talk-shout vocals, the mid-song transition into something with more guitar, more presence? I’m telling you, this is an album that knows it’s from the the 1990s, but it’s not altogether comfortable with that fact.

There are so many iconic songs on this album. “What Do You Want Me to Say?” with its pained guitars and melodic chorus; the overtly genuine “You Are Invited” that feels more at home 20 years later than it probably did at the verge of the millenium, with the way it expresses uncertainty musically and lyrically; “The City” with its discordant guitars and constant hum and beat.

Few artists are capable of telling stories with their sound like The Dismemberment Plan, and that’s what makes Emergency & I such a classic album. I sympathize with the narrative, because it feels universal. It’s not because they’re speaking about my unique experiences, but they’re speaking to some real truths.

I don’t know. I really, really enjoy this album. Is it perfect? I don’t think so. But now that I’ve re-listened once again and placed it at #29, I’m starting to wonder if it should maybe be a bit higher. That’s the mark of a great album.