Duncan, former guitarist of heady rock combo Pattern Is Movement, is joined by two cellos, two violas and an upright bass. It's the first sectional rehearsal for his new band Oh! Pears' record release show on March 13. Strings today. Tomorrow is percussion, later in the week is choral/flute and finally full band.

You know, if you're not paying attention, you might mistake Drink Up Buttercup for some seriously demented dudes.

West Philly six-piece Grandchildren blurs the line between avant-garde spontaneity and finely honed pop chops.

Aged and succumbing to Parkinson's disease, Edward Weston set up his camera on the rocky California coast in 1948 and framed up his final photographs.

A zippity fuzz guitar riff worthy of Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube." Various oohs and high-spirited aahs. Handclaps, drumrolls and a single central dilemma: "How much money can we spend?"

With a cascade of Juno keyboard loops and softly strummed acoustic guitars, their debut, I Know You Can, has a lovely Grandaddy/American Analog Set vibe. But Bill Storck and Marc Neibauer are also professed Jens Lekman fans; they're not doing this without a wink and a grin.

On last year's self-released EP Addicted to Suffering, Philly punk four-piece Leather made a palpable, sometimes painful case for their world-weary malaise. Choice song titles: "No Motivation," "Ejaculation Without Orgasm." That latter actually kind of rules.

Whether their band name is some sort of scene-preservational obfuscation or just a silly, impractical choice, Band Name/Bandname is great.

Writtenhouse's hot-off-the-presses new cut, "Mic Check One Two," hints that they've graduated from Midnight Marauders to Beats Rhymes and Life.

Amid horn bleats and whispery bacchanalia, these dudes (and lady) have obvious hooks and skill.