Shame on my unobservant ass. I've been subconsciously neglecting the Poster Children's latest, DDD, since I received it from Pitchfork Central. For months now, this album's been inexplicably buried beneath a stack of sadly forgettable CDs-- bands that will almost instantly be flushed from my memory after I melt down their worthless plastic to make homemade explosives. But my mysterious subconscious reluctance to review DDD is all too appropriate if you consider that, throughout most of their productive 13-year career, the Poster Children's achievements have been mysteriously obscured by many flavors-of-the-month and flashes-in-the-pan.

Yes, the Poster Children have always been underrated and overlooked for no good reason, if you ask me. True, they've resigned themselves to residing in their native Champaign, Illinois, dodging the limelight. They've endured the major label swine, and apparently, learned a thing or two from the experience: the band now records in their own studio for the New York-based indie, SpinART. On DDD, they sound like a band with nothing to lose, and under no obligation to please some fat-assed, cigar-chomping record exec looking for the next Oasis.

Guitarists Rick and Jim Valentin expertly intertwine their respective parts, referencing '60s psychedelia, punk, and the more obvious hook-driven pop that Doug Martsch's Built to Spill has executed since their 1993 debut. And it's probably a good thing critics don't often wax hyperbolic over the Valentin brothers. Who knows? Rick and Jim might lose their heads and release a live album containing a 20-minute version of "Cortez the Killer" or something unthinkable like that.

Now, it's true that, on DDD, the Poster Children uncharacteristically force some funky elements into their usual guitar/bass/drums barrage, as on "The Old School and the New," which is a kind of self-conscious attempt to put the Poster Child past forever behind them and look to the future. "The past is not the place to die," they insist. But don't let the word "funk" throw you-- we're talking maybe some sped-up, warped Railroad Jerk blues here, not some cut-out bin G. Love/R. Kelly hybrid.

Actually, on "Daisy Changed," the Poster Children integrate some early '80s neo-funk Moog junk with commendable skill. The song appears to be a clever allegorical commentary on assholes like me who never listened to Boston's advice on "Don't Look Back." The Poster Children's feelings on this track are pretty clear to me, and I'll take my lumps: "Daisy changed/ She's not the same girl/ You knew back in school/ She's all grown up/ How 'bout you?"

Valentin and crew always pick great lead-off tracks, setting just the right tone for the rest of the album. Listen to the simple air-tight structure of "This Town Needs a Fire" and its rocket-blast tempos, punchy rhythm guitar, and volatile, exploding chorus. Meanwhile, "Strange Attraction" gives a slight nod to early '90s navel-gazing-- delayed guitars soar off into space, flutes coo, feedback fuzz-blankets unfold all around-- yet the band kicks it up a notch, driving it into a blazing rock anthem. And check the biting stab they take at their own semi-obscure underground status on "Zero Stars:" "We're not on the TV/ We're not on the charts/ We don't know our places/ And we don't know who we are."

DDD is much more sonically ambitious and melodically inventive than 1999's New World Record, or 1997's RTFM, and quite possibly their second-best album ever. Yes, I'll have to admit, DDD isn't their greatest work. Inarguably, that award goes to their thrilling post-punk guitar blow-out, 1990's Daisychain Reaction, a glorious artifact the band will probably never improve upon. But given the other highly-touted 2000 releases I've suffered through this year, DDD may as well be the White Album of our generation.

-Michael Sandlin