We Are Scientists - Barbara Review

Barbara

We Are Scientists

Release Date: 14th Jun, 2010
Label: Masterswan Recordings
Genre: Rock

Since the release of 2008’s Brain Thrust Mastery, We Are Scientists have enlisted former Razorlight man Andy Burrows on drums and created and starred in a series of short MTV mock-docs.


Listeners to this fourth album concerned about any comedy influence can rest easy, though, as Brooklyn-based pair Keith Murray and Chris Cain have only allowed the addition of Burrows to affect their day jobs. After all, one Flight of the Conchords is enough.



WAS have long been a compelling live proposition, and have previously impressed with singles like the bittersweet emo indie of After Hours and breakthrough dance-punker The Great Escape. Barbara unexpectedly marks the first occasion when they’ve delivered a truly consistent album.



The album’s zenith is surely ace drinking paean Jack & Ginger. Aside from the verses of scuffed guitars and the cute kids TV show synth melody, there’s a chunk of Elvis Costello regret in the chorus as Murray intones: “No matter what I do, its way too late too late for self-control”.



Following tune Pittsburgh is another solid effort, albeit slower with wiry, indie-psych guitars reminiscent of Mansun’s underrated Legacy single, with poignant vocal harmonies and imposing Burrows drumming. Excellent album-closer Central AC is perhaps the most surprising moment on Barbara. Powered by snappy guitar riffs seemingly borrowed from Broken Bells’ equally excellent The Mall and Misery, sped up and aggravated, its chorus explodes into happy-period Beatles sunshine.



It’s not all about Murray and Burrows. Cain’s bass is allowed to shine on the Rules Don’t Stop and notably I Don’t Bite. The latter is great fun, led by an obese bassline that surely brought Cain’s bandmates and studio minions out in lottery winner smiles.



Whether or not the addition of Burrows is solely responsible for the improvement in consistency on this fourth album isn’t clear, but Barbara is their best work by far. Current fans will be glad and new ones may be easier to come by, particularly if the new material can be performed during festival season with the zeal it is here.

Reviewed by Lou Thomas

About The Artist

We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists is an American indie rock band featuring Keith Murray (guitar and lead vocals), Chris Cain (bass guitar and backing vocals), Max Hart (keys and guitar) and Andy Burrows (drums). Co-founder Michael Tapper (drums and backing vocals) left the band in 2007 and is currently a member of the bands Bishop Allen and Fool's Gold. They formed in 2000 in Claremont, California, United States. Their name was inspired by an awkward conversation with a U-Haul employee who was inspecting a van that the band had rented. The U-haul employee, attempting to make polite conversation, asked the three bespectacled band members if they were brothers. They said no. He asked if they were scientists, as they looked like they could be the kind of people who wear lab coats. They told him that they were musicians, not scientists. To this day, they regret telling the truth. They are not named after the Cap'n Jazz song which bears the name. The band formed while its members attended the Claremont Colleges. Murray and Cain attended Pomona College; Michael Tapper attended Harvey Mudd College. The band has released three self-made EPs (Bitching!, Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order) and In Action). Their debut LP, With Love And Squalor was on Virgin Records, the first three singles of which were "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt", "The Great Escape" and "It's A Hit". The album takes its name from the J.D. Salinger short story "For Esme - With Love and Squalor". They have since released LP Crap Attack, which is a collection of B-Sides, covers and other rarities, and their full follow-up album, Brain Thrust Mastery which debuted in the UK on March 17,2008 reached number 11 at the UK Album charts. On the 1st November 2007, NME reported that Michael Tapper has left We Are Scientists under amicable circumstances, and on September 18, 2007, the band announced on their website that Max Hart, a keyboardist and guitarist who has played live with them before, has joined the band temporarily. As they put it: "There's no easy answer as to how long Max will stick around. Maybe we'll grow to hate his sanctimonious ways, which for now tickle us so. Maybe he'll grow to hate our open-minded, funny, refreshing, handsome ways, thus achieving what psychologists and bookies long ago labeled impossible." And to make things even more exciting for the band, We Are Scientists is featured in the soundtrack of the 2008 film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, which Bishop Allen - at the time featuring former We Are Scientists drummer Michael Tapper - appears in a cameo. According to Keith Murray's Wikipedia he was nominated for World's Sexiest Vegetarian 2007 and is predicted that he will be the new face of Louis Vuitton's spring/summer '09 collection. The Band's 3rd effort, Barbara, was released in June of 2010 and features ex-Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows.

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26 Comments

  1. conditionals 28 Apr 2011

    "Suppose anything is an improvement on 'Brain Thurst Mastery'. Damm, that was a bad album." Really? Wasn't amazing, but it had some giant tracks.

  2. bapedrini 11 Apr 2011

    love the name of the album haha

  3. Medietic4 22 Jan 2011

    I think BTM was their best work :[ I can't get into this one at all..

  4. adamb1026 05 Jan 2011

    Thought I would be disappointed with the album, but I am really enjoying it. Suppose anything is an improvement on 'Brain Thurst Mastery'. Damm, that was a bad album.

  5. Mister_Chaos 24 Nov 2010

    They lost it after With Love and Squalor....this albums is pretty much garbage

  6. MeierPh 18 Sep 2010

    With Love and Squalor and Brain Thrust Mastery where great Albums, but I really don't like Barbara yet, perhaps I need to get used to the sound of Barbara.

  7. Some_Stay_Dry 14 Sep 2010

    god.... what is happening to this band....

  8. andoni199 07 Sep 2010

    I don't like it as much as I like WLaS and BTM, but I admit it's still quite good.

  9. allweknowisIDA 07 Jul 2010

    uuuwwew

  10. charlois 04 Jul 2010

    nice

  11. dzmarshmallow 02 Jul 2010

    Mas o que

  12. nathank111 28 Jun 2010

    bringing back my love for WaS

  13. conneticutx3 24 Jun 2010

    best album ever.

  14. nowherelplans 24 Jun 2010

    My fav. by them

  15. mynameis_xmitch 24 Jun 2010

    for a first run through, I'm not that impressed with this album. love Jack & Ginger, but eh. I hope it grows on me.

  16. gwozdzprogramu 18 Jun 2010

    FINALLY.

  17. Death_rayman 18 Jun 2010

    cool!

  18. bartlettoe 17 Jun 2010

    sorry to say this but not as good as the other albums but still an awesome record :D

  19. fuckingsystem 16 Jun 2010

    what a cool album name

  20. georgy-196 15 Jun 2010

    nice :p

  21. CharlesIsGod 21 May 2010

    What a cool record.

  22. DigitalLove42 19 May 2010

    *shrug*

  23. juninhooFL 17 May 2010

    They still have it

  24. nowherelplans 15 May 2010

    Good

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