- 16
- Aug
Travis Morrison Hellfighters - As We Proceed
Bless these lightning fast fingers for clicking my way into tickets to the Dismemberment Plan Reunion Benefit Shows earlier this year in DC at the Black Cat. As you may have heard, these shows were explosive, the crowd was nuts and the band was on fire--Travis Morrison was clearly reveling in the atmosphere and in total command of the audience. The rest of the band were like mad scientists in their labs after midnight. This is what DC had been missing since D-Plan broke up, and god we wanted it back.
I can't help it--had Dismemberent Plan taken their thing as far as it could go? Not from where we stood, not by a longshot. There are lots of reasons why bands move on, can't be helped, but DC just wasn't ready for this one.
Then when Travis' first solo record came out... Honestly, I don't want to dwell on the history, but suffice to say I'm in the camp of folks who were hoping for something...else. Is it bad to want more of the same? When the same would be so good?
And I feel ok saying that because I finally got what I wanted, which is the Travis Morrison Hellfighters album, All Y'all . Here's the energy, here's the crazy rythym, here are the melodies that really make sense, if only in their own cool little world--and what's best is that all the elements are put together in a cohesive package that's both challenging but accessible--just enough of a touchstone to keep you grounded but with the electricity and stargazing that you're dizzy too. It's all here in As We Proceed, and it continues throughout the album. It's not a navel-gazer, it's back to the get off your ass and do your best to dance. And each of these tracks really makes you impatient to see the whole thing live and in person, you already know you're going to sweat.
Right now you can stream the whole dern thing courtesy of Barsuk Records .