Next week, a bunch of "brothers" will be taking over Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave. But instead of watery, light beer and a generic Top-40 soundtrack, partygoers can expect intense beats and live electronica jams. Philadelphia quartet Brothers Past will headline at the venue Wednesday night with opening act Alchemy. Brothers Past is currently touring to build up excitement for the release of its second full-length CD, This Feeling's Called Goodbye, on February 22. For a group that has played close to 500 shows in the past four years, putting in the effort to record a solid album can get lost on the list of priorities. But Brothers Past guitarist/vocalist Tom Hamilton said the studio is just as important as the road to his band.

"In the touring circuit, it's easy to lose track of what you can do in the studio," he said. "It's important to take every moment you can to craft an album and sculpt it the way you want. You inevitably change yourself as a musician and the way you see your band."

That change could be a draw for local music fans that have already seen the band -- it has performed several times at smaller bars and outdoor festivals in the area over the past few years. Hamilton said that since its last performance at The Brewery, 223 E. Beaver Ave., in November of 2003, Brothers Past has evolved.

"We're just a much better band," he said. "We have more to say and we say it better."

But Brothers Past hasn't lost touch with its past. Even with a significant amount of new material, the band's set lists don't ignore the older tunes.

"We put everything in there," Hamilton said. "You might hear songs we've had for four years, or you might hear songs we wrote yesterday. You're not just going to hear the new album verbatim. It's a guessing game."

Still, Brothers Past has been described as having a "futuristic" sound. Hamilton described his band as blurring the line between DJ and songwriter.

Jam band fan Matt Klebanoff (sophomore-English) said the band's status as part of the "live electronica" scene was enough to pique his interest. But he said he doesn't think the show will just be more of the same stuff he's already seen.

"I haven't actually heard them, but I'm planning on going, based on my friend's recommendations," he said. "They've been compared to a lot of the bands I listen to, but I'm expecting something different also."

For Hamilton, being part of a scene that is constantly growing makes it difficult for a band to maintain a high profile unless it is keeping up an interesting musical conversation with the audience, he said.

"It's almost like people forgot to try to say something," Hamilton said. "Bands like Sound Tribe Sector 9 and The New Deal and Lotus ... They are all fantastic at what they do. They're saying something, and that's really hard to do."

For Brothers Past, the shift from smaller bars to all-ages clubs has been an indication that the group is saying something people want to hear.

"It's hard to make the step from bar band to not bar band, but we've made that step," Hamilton said.

Even after this present performance, however ,Brothers Past still has a future in the area -- the group will most likely return in April for Eco-Action's Earth Day event.

Eco-Action Vice President Katie Stoner (junior-media studies) said Brothers Past is "99 percent" booked to headline the event, which will be held at the Center for Sustainability.

"They're happy to play here," she said. "They're familiar with the Penn State crowd, and the kids are familiar with them, so it really just worked out."