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travis morrison / travistan (bark38)"After months of come-ons posted on his website, former Dismemberment Plan frontman Travis Morrison finally delivers the goods. Although stylistically some tracks could sneak onto a Plan record, the musical twists and turns mapped throughout Travistan won't allow for such easy classification. Morrison's unique vocals and intelligent wordplay connect throughout the genre jumping. The indie classicism of "Any Open Door" could beat the pants off any sensitive rock outfit, while the "Schoolhouse Rock" feel of "Get Me Off of This Coin" makes for a smart satirical sing-a-long...

Equally fueled by the politics that color our government and those that govern our personal lives, Travistan is an entertaining respite from the current state of affairs."  (Rockpile)


travis morrison / travistan (bark38)"Travistan builds on what Morrison was doing with the last two Dismemberment Plan discs... Travistan stands as a winking kiss-off to anyone who would insist he be intense, or demand that he continue to idealistically merge dance music with DIY emo. Morrison sings songs about obituaries, Sea World rebellions, getting his teeth knocked out, and growing up in the '70s, all with a tossed-off melodicism halfway between solo David Byrne and solo Stephen Malkmus.

Tracks like "Che Guevara Poster" relinquish tight, beat-driven structures in favor of rhythms and melodies that roam a step behind Morrison's distracted, truncated thoughts. But the album's sketchbook quality doesn't preclude entertainment. The R.E.M.-ish drive of "The Word Cop" and the wiggy, tuneful Britpop of "Any Open Door" sound as catchy as much of the Dismemberment Plan catalog. Even Morrison's goofiest lyrics—"I like my nations in constant revolution / and my booty wide"—come off more funny than wince-inducing, so long as listeners hear them in the context of an artist rethinking himself and risking embarrassment in order to see what he can do."  (Onion - AV Club)


travis morrison / travistan (bark38)"(*** - 3 stars) At his danceable best, Morrison ingeniously manifests his big concepts and even bigger heart. On the intellectual side, there's the jazzy "Get Me Off This Coin A," which opens a multi-cut thread narrated from the point of view of various American Presidents (Thomas Jefferson: "I like my nations in constant revolution and my booty wide"). The electro-inflected "Song for the Orca," meanwhile, is a touchingly childlike promise of freedom to captive animals. Liberation, whether for beast or man-boy musicians, feeds Morrison's ample inspiration."  (Blender)

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