SNMNMNM, an indie-pop quartet from Chapel Hill, N.C., treated a crowd of about 40 to a brief but explosive evening of '60s psych-pop pastiche, '80s dance grooves and '90s alt-rock nostalgia at Cholmondley's last Friday night. With their unique assortment of instruments-an analog synthesizer, some horns and a tuba in place of a bass guitar, all in addition to the requisite guitars and drums-and their infectious melodies and driving rhythms, they suffered slightly when indulging their most saccharine tendencies. But for the crowd, such deficiencies were ignorable: The set was far too danceable, and SNMNMNM's fondness for the annals of communal memory was far too captivating.Gatsby, a four-piece band from Boston, opened the show. While their sludgy sound-reminiscent of Sebadoh, perhaps-and torn, flannel-draped appearance recalled the slacker scene of the early '90s, they largely failed to resonate with the bored crowd.

The mood changed dramatically once SNMNMNM took the stage. Front-man Seamus Kenney-who alternated between guitar, keyboard, trombone and accordion-joked with the crowd as his bandmates tuned their instruments. As a thumping riff emerged from tubist Mark Daumen's lips, Kenney slammed down on his keys. Matching the playfulness of They Might Be Giants with the Apples in Stereo's sunny, horn-laden neo-psychedelia, SNMNMNM thrilled the small crowd with selections from their new album, As Best as We Can, their third since they formed in 1998.

The highlight, however, was not one of the band's original songs, but instead a medley of popular modern rock hits, including Green Day's "When I Come Around," Better Than Ezra's "Good" and U2's "With Or Without You." At first the medley seemed out of place for a group so obviously cognizant of the American underground tradition, but it ultimately complimented the nostalgia of their originals.

"Come on, they all have the same chords," Kenney quipped.