Drink Up Buttercup vocalist and guitarist James Harvey had a difficult decision to make in 2008 when he founded the band. On one hand Harvey said he aspired to make upbeat music, but then again, he wasn’t ready to write bubbly lyrics to go along with it.
“I’m cynical. I think that the world is a dark place, and so the subject matter is going to be dark too,” said Harvey, a Philadelphia native. “But I like playing happy music.”
The result was the energetic foursome that will appear at 7 p.m. Sunday at The Basement in support of headliner Maps & Atlases.
The group might be an interesting amalgamation of moods, but Harvey makes no qualms about what genre it is aiming for.
“We just play pop songs with a lot of classic songwriting,” he said. “We tried to bring a higher level of energy, though.”
The influence of 1960s mainstays such as The Beach Boys and The Beatles can easily be detected in the group’s harmonies. Keyboard player Farzad Houshiarnejad adds to the effect with catchy keys and an occasional blip of pipe organ. No matter the amount of pep in the music, the gloomy lyrics keep the sound anchored. Harvey said the paradox wasn’t done to prove any point.
“The music isn’t meant to be a mission statement,” he said. “That’s just what we wanted to play, and that’s how it turned out.”
The lyrics have drawn some flak for some questionable content. One song in particular, “Young Ladies,” has drawn critical commentary because its lyrics suggest a date-rape situation at a party. Harvey said the song was not meant to promote any illicit behavior.
“It’s more of a social commentary on how desperate some people are,” he said. “It wasn’t meant to condone anything.”
On the other hand, the band hasn’t exactly done anything to deter people from perceiving them as edgy. The artwork on its debut album, “Born and Thrown on A Hook,” depicts a woman sitting in a decrepit car, the windshield splattered with blood.
Even if defining what such a group’s fan base should be is difficult, other artists have jumped on the bandwagon. Rocker Andrew W.K. recently released a remix of the band’s first single, “Even Think.”
Harvey is excited about the upcoming tour with Maps & Atlases. He said that smaller venues such as The Basement add to the band’s intensity.
“It’s got this caged-dog element. It brings out the energy you see a lot at smaller punk shows,” he said.
The band has gained some acclaim for its live performances. The band’s current setup involves garbage can lids for banging and a mannequin, which is usually disassembled by the end of the night. Harvey said the garbage can lids hearken back to when he was writing the songs.
“When I wrote the songs, I had a guitar, a few cheap percussion instruments and a big metal table,” he said. “Our bassist [Ben Money] said ‘that sounds like a trash can lid,’ so that’s what we brought on tour with us.”
If all goes well, Harvey said they’ll get the audience involved, too.
“If we feel the crowd likes it,” he said, “we’ll come into the crowd and hand out some percussion instruments.”
