Knowing little about either band, DCist attended Wednesday night’s performance by Chin Up Chin Up and The Oxford Collapse, armed only with a few tracks from each heard on Myspace, glowing reviews from Pitchfork, Mojo and a host of other publications, and a promise from a good friend that we would not regret it. Success on the Black Cat Backstage tends to be dependent on two things: your ability to soldier on despite often questionable sound, and a crowd that’s on your side enough to soldier on with you. Lucky for both CUCU and OC, both factors were on their side, even through the typically muddy vocal mix.

Chin Up Chin Up took the stage in front of an impressively sized crowd for an up-and-coming band on a mid-week evening, and seemed genuinely grateful to find such a warm reception this far from their Chicago home. The band plays a heady blend of angular and arty indie rock, recalling everyone from Modest Mouse to Pavement to the Cure. Nathan Snydacker’s lead guitar underlined many of the songs with a ringing, chiming tone that acted as the perfect counterpoint to Jeremy Bolen’s often subdued vocals.

Two guitars, bass, and keyboards can make for a complex and layered sound, and CUCU use the layers to great effect. While contrasting but complimentary parts dance and weave around one another, they always drive towards a fixed point. The genius of the band is that they are deceptively straightforward. It’s easy to let the sound wash over you and let yourself believe that the songs are much simpler than they are. Unlike many bands saddled with post-rock and art-pop tags, CUCU never come off as intentionally obtuse, instead managing to remain both accessible and inventive, melodic and challenging.