The Dismemberment Plan

Hardcore's gotten confusing for oldsters; in these post-Fugazi days, a lot of it sounds like jazz. But it sure beats the folk-rock that used to sound like jazz. Here's a D.C. unit that convened in 1993 and made this third album on Interscope's dime during the merger mess. The only way they're punk anymore is that there aren't very many of them and that none of them seems to be playing a keyboard even though most of them can. What they are instead is a much rarer thing, no matter what Ron Sexsmith and Richard Buckner pretend--thoughtful, quirky, mercurial young adults skilled at transforming doubt into music. Tracking his feelings through irregular structures and jumpy rhythms, Travis Morrison is always lyrical, even celebratory--full of regrets like many honest men, never ever a sad sack. (Grade - A-)