Nathaniel Cardaci, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Literature, said that he and all his band mates like to read books, but don’t let that fool you into thinking their shows are stuffy.

“It’s a little tongue-in-cheek. It’s not supposed to be so serious or anything,” Cardaci said. “We don’t show up in sweater vests and with glasses on.”

Actually, Cardaci said that that band’s name fit in with the music that he and Kevin Attics were listening to and writing when they started the group in 2010 in Austin, Texas.

And in fact, Literature, which consists of Cardaci, Attics on the lead guitar and backup vocals, Seth Whaland on the bass and Chris Shackerman on the drums, likes to have fun at their shows. Cardaci said that he and his band mates like to dance at shows and get the crowd hyped up.

“We love playing the songs that we write and Kevin is an awesome, energetic performer and we feed off each other big time,” Cardaci said.

“And that comes from the chemistry that we all have. We’re just really freaking excited to play the songs and it makes us happy. That’s why we try to make the shows good.”

The Philadelphia-based indie pop outfit will kick off a U.S. tour tomorrow night in Bethlehem, Pa. before coming to the Washington, D.C. area this weekend.

They’re slated to play the Holy Underground in Baltimore this Saturday, Sept. 6, and George Washington University this Sunday, Sept. 7.

They released a new album, entitled Chorus, on Aug. 19 with Slumberland Records. It’s a follow-up to their 2012 debut album Arab Spring, which has a bunch of stripped-down, sweet pop tunes with drive.

After releasing that record, Attics, Cardaci, Whaland, who are all in their late 20s or early 30s, moved up to Philadelphia, where they met Chris Shackerman, a 19-year-old drummer who was such a big fan of Literature that he had learned all of their songs before meeting them.

The four of them play on Chorus, which was recorded at Malborough Farms in Brooklyn by lauded sound engineer Gary Olson.
The album is beefed up with rich layers of audio texture, tight knit chorus-verse song structure and a clean, but not over produced sound.

“We recorded with Gary Olson and he’s got all of this vintage audio equipment and a lot of experience to help everything blend well together,” Cardaci said. “And then we could add all of these layers of lushness.”

Cardaci said their live show will feature a mix of songs from Arab Spring and Chorus. Chorus has received favorable reviews since its release and Cardaci said that the album is being well received by fans.

Literature has seen their buzz and audience grow in the past two years. A 2013 re-pressing of Arab Spring quickly sold out and the tour they’re about to go on is their biggest yet.

“We’re always excited to go on tour, but for this record we’ve had more distribution and more press and a little more buzz,” Cardaci said.

“So we’re more excited now to get out there and we’ve been practicing our asses off to really bring it at all the shows.”

• For more information about Literature, visit literature.bandcamp.com.