An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.

An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:

In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or "revising" chamber; for this reason its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses:

The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house, and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example is the British House of Lords. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. It is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay a bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill.

Hercules and Love Affair is a musical project from New York based DJ Andy Butler. Members include Butler, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel, Aerea Negrot, and Shaun Wright. It is signed to DFA Records. The single "Blind" featuring guest Antony Hegarty (lead vocalist in Antony & The Johnsons) was released on 3 March 2008, and the debut album (produced by Butler and Tim Goldsworthy) was released on 10 March. Their self-titled album has been critically well received and charted in the top 40 in several countries. The touring group in 2008 featured guest vocalist Nomi Ruiz.

The band's central figure, Andrew Butler, began his musical career at 15, DJing in a Denver leather bar run by a hostess called Chocolate Thunder Pussy. He then moved to New York, in order to attend Sarah Lawrence College. According to Butler: "I’ve been writing songs since childhood. I made music for dance performances in college (where he studied under Martin Goldray), like a remake of Gino Soccio’s ‘Runaway’ done in the style of Kraftwerk."