Barsuk
2004
Travistan
About This Album
Much like ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus, former Dismemberment Plan lead singer Travis Morrison faces the daunting task of detaching himself from the large shadow his juggernaut band cast over the indie rock community. Free from the democratic constraints the Plan imposed upon him, Morrison presents a far more eclectic side of himself than seen on any record prior, and the results were heavily foreshadowed via mp3s on his website during Travistan's production phase. Nevertheless, Plan loyalists are almost guaranteed to scrutinize this album from start to finish, deconstructing it on a microscopic level with a magnifying glass to find any possible reason to complain why Morrison and company called it a day far too soon. The immediate thing that comes through on Travistan that was missing on some of the Plan records is that Morrison sounds like he's having fun experimenting with new sounds and textures (check the Joe Jackson-esque piano playing on "The Word Cop") and not brooding so often. Combined with the added relief of starting clean on a new label with a new backing band (including Death Cab for Cutie's Jason McGuerin) and the freedom to produce without the pressures of making it better than a Dismemberment record, it's instantaneously notable.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,6,7,8,10,11,12 and 14)

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