Guitar popsters Superchunk have been laying low since their last studio album, 2001’s Here’s To Shutting Up. Aside from their odds and ends twofer Cup of Sand and some limited-release live collections, the band has spent the past eight years focused elsewhere. Frontman Mac McCaughin has focused on his other band, Portastatic, and he and bassist Laura Ballance’s little record label Merge is now a commanding indie rock presence (Arcade Fire? Spoon? M. Ward?). Drummer Jon Wurster has not only become a go-to studio and live percussionist, but also does a fair share of comedy writing for television and radio. And guitarist Jim Wilbur is— well, I’m not sure what he’s been up to.

Leaves in the Gutter might seem like a throat-clearing maneuver, a five-song stopgap to keep the veteran indie act on the radar. But it’s much better than that: it’s an effective reminder of why so many people love this band.

“Learned to Surf” bookends the EP in both full band and acoustic forms. The former explodes with Wilber and Mac’s hyperkinetic guitar noodling, marrying the pop smarts of their previous two LPs with the punchy rave-up attitude from their earlier career. McCaughan still sings like an eager 15-year-old, belting out “I stopped swimming and learned to surf.” The weary juxtaposition works. “Misfits & Mistakes” (which appeared on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie soundtrack) rides on a jerky guitar and synth interplay, and “Screw It Up” takes up some of the mid-tempo, layered sound from Here’s To Shutting Up.

“Knock Knock Knock” isn’t anything new, but the hummable chorus eventually gives way to an extended guitar pop outro. The EP closes with the acoustic version of “Learned to Surf”, which sounds like you think it would. What makes it sound great, though, are McCaughan and Wilber’s harmonized vocals. There’s a tiredness there that reflects the resigned nature of the lyrics. It’s sublime.

Regardless of what route Superchunk take to get to their ninth LP, it’s a good sign when their clean-the-table releases are this consistently good.