Although
We Are Scientists newest release Love and Squalor has been available overseas for months now, it's U.S. release yesterday caught the attention of not just this blogger, but most of the music blog community.
Love and Squalor is sure one of the next "it" albums with its almost perfect straddling of the line between furiously catchy pop-punk and that wildly popular greasy hair garage band sound. And even though the album is a Virgin release and the band has appeared on Letterman, it's indie rock. While comparisons to The Strokes and The Killers will inevitably be made over the coming months as "everybody else" becomes aware of the New York-based threesome, We are Scientists have something unique. (Or it could just be bassist
Chris Cain's really thin moustache.)
While listening to the
Inaction mp3 for close to a week now, thanks to
gorillavsbear, the high octave guitar lines and Beatlesesque backing vocals on the chorus had me wondering what else these guys might have already released. It seems the two EPs which the band has released are still import only from the UK and one is available from iTunes.
Upon a full listen of the record, Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt will likely be the U.S. favorite, but certainly not the best track. The chours here beomes a little repetitive, fortunatly the music keep the song interesting. Can't Lose, the record's fifth track, begins with a poppy bouncing bass and drum mix as lead singer Keith Murray sings, "The party's alright, I might wanna stop drinking, what we're we talking about?" It's one of those songs, as most of the albums tracks are, one can find themself singing along with by the time the third or fourth chorus comes around. . . on first listen. That classic disco loose off-beat high hat snare combo is smattered all over the record and specifically The Great Escape and Worth the Wait. Both tracks immeditatly draw comparisons to the genres already-famous bands, We Are Scientists never lets that sound carry the song thugh, but instead refreshes the sound at the chorus with bigger guitars and drawn out singing.
While a lot can be said for the ultra-catchy hooks on the this records and the fact that almost everytrack could potentially be a favorite, We Are Scientists are not the next greatest thing in indie rock. Love and Squalor is great record with twelve well-written songs-and that's a perfect answer for a
rainy January.
Read the Pitchfork review
here.
listen and watch videos
here.
