The currency of “rocking out,” once a rock and roll staple, has been severely undervalued in recent years. There was a time when throwing yourself wildly around a stage, suffering endorphin-masked injury, and smearing your bloodied body with peanut butter wasn’t a particularly noteworthy night. That was just Topeka, and those wounds would magically heal themselves to be reopened again by the time you got to Omaha. Somewhere along the line rock went and got itself some respectability, and before we knew it we were all doing the standing still. Scanner Freaks will have none of that.

Despite having only come together as the unit they are now less than a year ago, despite having less than a half dozen shows under their belt, Scanner Freaks have jumped up on the radar with surprising speed. Following a choice opening slot for The Horrors at the Rock and Roll Hotel last month, the band now has a highly sought after spot on the Fort Reno schedule next month. And their willingness to “let it all hang out” on stage is undoubtedly a big part of that success, making instant fans, and generating word of mouth that travels from show to show.

The band’s faster and louder aesthetic, also largely atypical among higher profile local bands these days, is another thing that sets them apart. Their songs are short but sharp, instantly memorable melodic shout-alongs riding a razor’s edge of buzzsaw guitars and rhythms bounding relentlessly forward. It’s a sound that hearkens back to D.C.’s late 80’s post-hardcore past, without suffering in the comparison. Gathered around a table at the Pharmacy Bar last week, they were a jovial but focused bunch, moving easily from serious discussions of the D.C. music community and their place in it to jokes and laughter. It’s an easy chemistry that one expects translates to the stage as well.