When the Dismemberment Plan decided to call it quits in 2003, D.C. lost the one hometown act that just about everyone could agree on. The years since have been filled with high expectations for all of the band’s former members, though none of the post-breakup projects have managed to incite the level of excitement that always seemed to surround the Plan. As you’ll probably recall, the first out of the gate was Travis Morrison with his now infamous solo debut Travistan. Though it’s debatable exactly what happened (and where the blame lies), the album largely failed to resonate outside of Morrison’s loyal fanbase.

Meanwhile, in the far away land of Milwaukee, ex-Plan bassist Eric Axelson joined up with former Promise Ring members Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier to form Maritime. While Maritime’s criminally underrated debut album continued in the same vein as late-period Promise Ring, it only further frustrated fans of the Plan who felt that Axelson’s presence on the album should have been more pronounced. Though Axelson’s serpentine bass lines were one of his previous band’s calling cards, he quickly discovered that his style of playing was ill-suited for Martime’s low-key indie pop.

“I tried to play the way I had always played—a little bit of R&B, a little bit of Dub—and everything I played sounded awful on the Maritime stuff,” Axelson explained. “I had to stop and ask myself, ‘Am I just not that good?’”

Axelson eventually figured out the angles by working out a new style of playing based on major key British pop, but ultimately decided to part ways with Maritime, following the release of the band’s second full-length.

At this point in the story, you can’t really blame any D-Plan fans in the house who might have lost hope. Sure, the band briefly reunited for those two well-received benefit shows earlier this year, but judging by their comments since, we’re not likely to see a repeat performance any time soon. Is all hope lost for Dismemberment Plan fans who can’t quite let go of the past (this writer included, obviously)? Not quite.