Seraphina Lotkhamnga on May 1st, 2012

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For those of you who missed the news, the Morning Benders have made the bold decision to change their band name to POP ETC back in March. Their reasons were addressed in a public letter to fans along with a free mixtape of warm, chiffon-soft electronic tunes on their new website. Running with the concept of turning over a new leaf, POP ETC now reveals “Live It Up,” the first song off of their forthcoming self-titled album (slated for June 12 on Rough Trade). The song’s band-directed clip features their lead vocalist intensely emoting underneath bouncing lights and shadow, and exposes an arrangement that heavily uses Autotune in place of the baroque guitar-pop heard on their previous record “Big Echo.” Is this Christopher Chu or Chris Brown? Originally from the California, POP ETC has always had a delicate way with summery atmospherics, but the new track may have fans wondering if the rest of the new album will also bump with this much R&B and soul.