Very Emergency

Very Emergency
A man dressed as a chauffeur facing forwards against a white background
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1999
RecordedApril 1999
StudioInner Ear, Washington, D.C.
Genre
Length35:06
LabelJade Tree
ProducerJ. Robbins, the Promise Ring
The Promise Ring chronology
Nothing Feels Good
(1997)
Very Emergency
(1999)
Wood/Water
(2002)

Very Emergency is the third studio album by American rock band the Promise Ring, released on September 28, 1999 through the label Jade Tree. Following the release of their second studio album Nothing Feels Good (1997), bassist Scott Beschta was replaced by Tim Burton. After a van accident, which resulted in a six-week break, Burton was replaced by Scott Schoenbeck. The band recorded their next album at Inner Ear Studios in Washington, D.C., co-producing it with J. Robbins. Very Emergency is a power pop and pop rock album that moves away from the emo style of their earlier works. It continued the sound of the Boys + Girls (1998) EP, and was compared to the work of the Lemonheads, the Pixies, Soul Asylum and the Wedding Present.

Very Emergency received generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the band's change of sound, though some felt it was inferior to Nothing Feels Good. The band promoted it with a tour of the United States East Coast and Canada with Euphone. They ended the year with a two-month US tour with Robbins' band Burning Airlines. In early 2000, the Promise Ring played in Japan, and went on another US tour. Though they had planned to go to Europe, the trek was cancelled when it was discovered that frontman Davey von Bohlen had meningioma. After surgery and a few months break, the band supported Bad Religion on their US tour. Spin ranked the album within their list of the top 20 best releases from 1999.