For now, they do both: three Teeth (twin brothers Aaron and Peter MoDavis and guitarist Brian Ashby) work by day at Powelton's Cheesesteaks, while one of them (drummer Jonas Oesterle) lives in a cubbyhole made out of leftover carpeting. so, really, it's no problem for everyone to channel a much bigger, much much kookier time and place than their humdrum mid-Atlantic lives: the Teeth yell and yelp and yahoo through it all like it doesn't matter that no one's been watching.

There are the faux-maudlin crescendos that recall Game-era Queen, showtune-y fast-hands tracks that maybe (maybe) sniff of the Muppets and a standard set of you-sound-just-likes that range from the Kinks to Pavement to the Beatles but are really just yawny ways of saying that this band has Official High Pop Harmonies and you actually should listen to them and make them your new favorite band.

"We were playing all these shows with all these other crappy bands and it was like, 'Oh maybe we're that bad too,'" says Peter MoDavis. Not so: we first heard wind of the Teeth from friendly rivals/brothers-in-arms Dr Dog. But while the Dog has kicked-up chops from a spring tour across the US and a courtly label dance now under their belt, the Teeth are still mashing it out. "We try to play as many house parties as possible but only one gig a month," says Aaron MoDavis. "Clubs get pissed if you play too much." So while potentially forced-sincere lyrics run the gamut from The only girl who likes me is my mother to I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! it's reassuring to know that all this isn't mere blahzay New Yorkese but greasy, pretty, Philly puppy love.