Given the blatant trend chasing that often consumes the world of indie rock (Freak-folk? Electro-disco? Indie-afro-pop?), it’s sometimes easy to forget just how compelling a bunch of earnest dudes with guitars can be. Luckily for us, The New Year stopped by DC9 on Tuesday night to offer up a little reminder and a whole lot of rock. Formed by the brothers Kadane (formerly of Bedhead) in 1999, The New Year have spent the last nine years honing their craft as purveyors of guitar-based indie-pop that’s by turns delicate, sincere and muscular (think Built to Spill, Death Cab for Cutie or fellow Texans, the American Analog Set).

As expected, their Tuesday night set involved a whole lot of guitars–as a matter of fact, at one point, all five members of the band were playing guitars simultaneously (that is, if you include the bass). But this display of five-stringed fortitude wasn’t merely for show; the band spent most of its set weaving complimentary melodies together, sometimes joining as many as four guitar lines in order to create a composite melody. Despite the complexity of these compositions, the band managed to pull off note-perfect renditions of a number of songs, many of which were culled from their latest, self-titled full-length. It’s good to know that no matter how far out indie rock gets, there are still folks out there who just want to see how many guitars you can fit on DC9’s tiny stage.