2014 yielded a lot of great punk rock. An unintentional consequence of its popularity is that most indie rock now feels tame by comparison. You know that band Real Estate, full of New Jersey nerds who play rock so polite that your dad would love it? Yeah, it sounds like elevator music now. Still, there’s a part of us that craves indie rock’s clean, spare pop sounds, and the Athens, Ga., quartet White Violet provides just that. Its guitar sounds are crisp, yet there’s energy and power there, too, and it’s hard to shake. On its 2014 record Stay Lost, the band alternates between ballads and straightforward rock tunes, with vocal performances that are soulful and confessional in equal measure. Semicircle, another Athens band, rounds out the bill, so the evening at DC9 will educate listeners on how Southern rockers do it better. White Violet performs with Semicircle at 9 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $10. (202) 483-5000. dcnine.com.