The Dismemberment Plan

Dismemberment Plan split up just before the indie-rock flood hit the mainstream. Fittingly, they're among the first of their generation of bands to reform and take a stab at recreating the old magic in the studio, making Uncanney Valley (their first album of original material since 2001's Change) the debut entry in the indie-dad-rock genre. For their part, the band don't embarrass themselves. In fact, Uncanney Valley sounds like the missing link between the funky twitch of 1999's Emergency & I and Change's smooth grooves. D-Plan always stood apart from their contemporaries, forging their own path, one that paired DC hardcore and anxiously paranoid lyrics with jazzbo rhythms and pop melodies. They did it so well that no one has stepped into the void they left when they called it quits a decade ago. All those qualities are on display, along with Travis Morrison's electric personality on the mic. His penchant for penning sentimental tunes remains on "Lookin," a rare nod to the band members' age and a song that perfectly captures mature love, as opposed to the budding romance that takes centre stage in most contemporary pop. However, he veers into saccharine territory on "Daddy was a Real Good Dancer," the album's weakest link. D-Plan are almost as legendary today for their live shows as for their studio albums and Uncanney Valley is packed with rave-ups like "Mexico City Christmas," and "Go and Get It." The vast majority of what now gets tagged as indie-rock offers little more than distraction — background music while you buy your latte at Starbucks. Even in their post-retirement phase, rather than fall prey to this artistic dead-end, Dismemberment Plan continue to chart their own course.