Time is the nemesis of originality. The greater the number of artists who explore a particular discipline over time, the less likely it is that one of them will come up with something fresh.

J. Robbins, the singer and guitarist for the American postpunk band Burning Airlines, has made a career working out this conundrum, though he admits it might be better to not dwell on it too much. "I've always been concerned about not sounding obvious, but at the same time I prefer to trust my instincts," he says over the phone from his home somewhere in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

For many bands, trying not to sound obvious and trusting one's instincts may work at cross purposes, but for Burning Airlines the result is a marvelous pop tension. Having sprung from the inventive D.C. punk scene of the 1980s, centered around DIY purists Fugazi and their influential Dischord label, Robbins earned his stripes as the bassist for Government Issue and then went on to found Jawbox, one of the better dissonant pop-punk bands of the early '90s.