Independent Minded: Tereu Tereu

VIRGINIA ROCK foursome Tereu Tereu is a hardworking band — so hard-working, in fact, that it's sometimes difficult to schedule as many shows as they'd like. Holding down jobs (and, for two members, keeping up with schoolwork) and maintaining the buzz about one of the region's more exciting local bands is a serious effort in time management.

"I wish we didn't have to have jobs, so we could just play. Unfortunately, we have to pay rent," said frontman Ryan Little. "That's the most difficult part, because I'll play shows to two people and I'm fine with that. I just want to be out there playing."

Unless you are one of the lucky two in those audiences, you might not have heard of Tereu Tereu yet — but those in the know on the D.C. indie-rock scene have, and they're paying attention. You'll see them at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Saturday listening as Tereu Tereu opens for the Good Life and Luke Temple.

The band's debut EP, "Feline Ambition," was recorded by Jason Caddell, formerly of the Dismemberment Plan, mixed by Devon Ocampo of Faraquet, and features backup vocals by Travis Morrison. Little's been cultivating these relationships since his days in Pash, and those connections are paying off for T2.

"We've tried to contact people who are in bands we like and work with them as much as we can," Little said. "It's good to work with bands that have a bit more experience and learn from that. It makes you up your own game."

Not that "Feline Ambition" is lacking in game. With intricate, progressive-tinged pop, the EP is more about quality than quantity, showing impressive innovation without the overeager or over-aggressive missteps of many an ambitious new band.

"We wanted to put out stuff we could really be proud of," Little said. "We couldn't really afford to put out an entire record that sounded great, so we put out what we could afford to sound great."

Adventurism apparently comes cheap, because Tereu Tereu doesn't restrict itself to simple guitar-bass-drum noisiness, taking an example from Washington's more complex post-punk outfits, layering in keyboard, trumpet, vibraphone, glockenspiel (!) — and "whatever else we could find at the time" — on the EP.

And expect more diversification for the upcoming full-length, which they'll begin recording in the spring.

If Tereu Tereu can continue to command attention with its debut LP, it might not be long before playing trumps paying the rent ... and fans will never find themselves in an audience of two.

» Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE, with the Good Life and Luke Temple, Sat., 9:30 p.m., $13; 202-388-7625.

Photo by Shervin Lainez