We Are Scientists Preview

We Are Scientists
Subterranean, Chicago
Monday, January 16, 2006

Having releasing a string of EPs after forming in 2000, We Are Scientists were signed to Virgin Records in 2005 and things have been moving quickly for the trio ever since. They appeared on David Letterman last month and will open for Kaiser Chiefs on a European tour in March. Their major label debut LP, With Love And Squalor, was released January 10th and is a collection of playful, stylish tracks with grooving guitar progressions and raw indie-rock melodies.

Keith Murray (guitar/vocals), Chris Cain (bass/vocals), and Michael Tapper (drums/vocals) recorded With Love And Squalor last year, prior to being signed. Murray told Billboard.com, “We didn’t really have the budget to do anything big, so there was minimal equipment involved. And our producer (Ariel Rechtshaid) had experienced making lo-fi albums, so we just wanted it to really sound like our live show.”

The nerdy-styled trio succeeded, not sounding over produced or too polished, especially on tracks like “Cash Cow” and album opener “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.” Most tunes have a danceable punk essence with upbeat rhythm arrangements and hook-laden melodies, with an exception on the laid-back controlled aggression of “Can’t Lose.”

— Jill Haverkamp

Oxford Collapse will open. Aberdeen City were scheduled to perform, but cancelled due to a van accident en route.

— Terrence Flamm

Click here to download “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly