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For music lovers of a certain age, Superchunk represent the good ol’ days, a time when Chapel Hill, N.C., stood as an unlikely musical mecca and indie rock was not yet an acceptable descriptor for bands on Warner Brothers. Over the course of its mid-’90s heyday, the band fused brash energy, heavy distortion and world-weary sincerity, all delivered with a staunch D.I.Y. ethos that helped shield it from the decade’s major-label gold rush. Instead, the band quietly persevered on its own terms, gradually shedding the noisy angst by the 2001 release of Here’s Where the Strings Came In, an underrated, polished record reminiscent of lead singer Mac McCaughan’s more subdued side-project, Portastatic. Hibernating through much of the 2000s, Superchunk has reactivated in the past few years, gigging occasionally and releasing a handful of singles. The band is currently touring behind its first new album in nine years, Majesty Shredding—a stirring collection that revisits its former crunch with a sense of earned nobility.
SUPERCHUNK PERFORMS AT 8 P.M. AT THE 9:30 CLUB, 815 V ST., NW. $20. (202) 265-0930.