The Dismemberment Plan

I’m a lover of 1990s music. No, not the boy bands and kitschy punk like the Backstreet Boys and Smash Mouth that for some reason everyone thinks is the best music from that decade.

Everyone seems to have forgotten that one of our favorite genres now, indie rock, took shape in the ‘90s. Alt-rock gods Nirvana, with the help of Pavement, Built to Spill and more, constructed the blueprint that our favorite indie bands use today.

So when Washington, D.C., rockers the Dismemberment Plan announced their return to the studio with “Uncanney Valley” after a 13-year hiatus, I was thrilled.

The D-Plan’s 1999 album “Emergency and I” is a masterpiece of pop energy and alternative experimentation. Along with their 2001 follow-up “Change,” the band solidified their place in the ‘90s alt-rock hall of fame with the guys I mentioned above.

“Uncanney Valley” presents a much less angsty frontman in Travis Morrison. The lyrics he wrote as a 26-year-old on “Emergency and I” had youthful themes of anxiety, frustration and partying.

Now, at age 40, Morrison sings of nostalgia and resignation. It’s possible he’s having a mid-life crisis. The new album doesn’t have the same catchy immediacy as the band’s previous efforts.

That’s not to say it’s a bad album. In the album’s opener, “No One’s Saying Nothing,” we’re presented with the familiar sound of the fuzzy synth-bass the band used on “Emergency and I” single “The City.”

The sound of the band has remained consistent even though they took 13 years off. Bassist Eric Axelson and drummer Joe Easley sound as good as ever. With this album they prove they are one of the best indie rock rhythm sections ever.

And Morrison still has a knack for writing great songs. The tongue-in-cheek “White Collar White Trash” has him railing on his least favorite D.C. suburbs. Standout “Daddy Was A Real Good Dancer” has an explosive chorus that is sure to get caught in your head.

Closer “Let’s Just Go To The Dogs Tonight” is heartbreaking in its hopelessness, but it’s also full of funk and bliss. This is a combination that Morrison and the D-Plan can pull off like precious few others.

“Uncanney Valley” is not a groundbreaking, triumphant return for this beloved band. I can’t listen to it for long before I start craving the Dismemberment Plan’s earlier releases. But it has its moments, and it’s a solid entry in an already stellar discography.