Back when I first reported on Beaters in early 2009, I had a good feeling that their skuzzy, drug-punk anthems would soon make every indie hipster from here to Williamsburg cream in his jeggings. Sure enough, once pubs like Vice and Stereogum caught wind of the single, “Fishage,” next-big-thing fever took hold and a lot of black-frame glasses were fogged up in the process.

But then frontman Jeremy Rojas did something unexpected. Instead of striking while the lo-fi iron was hot, he stopped making Beaters music.

“It wasn’t really a conscious decision to focus on other things. It was more circumstantial,” Rojas says. “Beaters lost our bass player because he moved to New York, so that put a little hold on things.”

This might not necessarily be a bad thing. A lot of bands tend to rush out a follow-up single once that initial song garners attention. But fickle music geeks tend to write the new single off and just move on to the next hot, shiny band of the moment. And if bands like Salem, Cults and The Weeknd have proven anything, it’s that taking your time helps lend an air of mystery to a group and build up anticipation for the next release.

Lately, Rojas has been focusing on the band Ale Mania with his musical soulmate Andrew Montoya (who plays bass in Beaters). But Rojas says he’s ready to get back to Beaters. They’ll play their first show in nearly a year-and-a-half at Soda Bar on Saturday, Aug. 20 (along with Bleached, Heavy Hawaii and Plateaus), and Rojas plans to debut new songs on the group’s Bandcamp page (beaters.bandcamp.com) during the next few months, with a full-length to follow.

“I’ve been working on new Beaters material this whole time,” says Rojas, who plans to unleash at least one new song on Saturday. “I definitely want to pick up where we left off.”

So, wash your pants and clean your glasses. They’re back.