Reviews
We Are Scientists: With Love and Squalor
By: Blake Jones
31/2 out of 5
For fans of: Hot Hot Heat, Elefant, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Bravery
The debut LP from this scientific trio proves to be a captivating recording full of exuberance and catchy hooks and drumbeats. Despite their incredible accessible sound We Are Scientists seem to be missing enough originality to separate With Love and Squalor from the ever-growing stack of forgettable indie/pop-rock albums.
Five syllable long whohohohohoas and a chorus that I have yet to get out of my head starts the album off with a bang in Nobody move, nobody get hurt. The first half of the album continues with the same energy with This Scene is Dead and Inaction. They have the perfect ingredients for chart topping singles; dance-rockish verses, breakdown beat choruses, and lyrics spun around girl trouble and drinking. Even Callbacks and its punk infused guitar crunches deserve a chance to inspire radio listening teenage angsters.
Of course, the Hot Hot Heat comparison is inevitable. Songs like Worth the Wait showcases the offbeat high hats, spastic guitar hooks, and sloppy drunk vocals that move Hot Hot listeners on the dance floor. The comparisons don’t stop there. Lousy Reputation sounds like it was lifted straight from the self-titled debut by The Bravery, a band greener than the Scientists but no more original. Textbook’s opening bass line and drums are so close to Close to Me by The Cure it made me blush from embarrassment.
The latter half of the album slides away from any originality the band may have started out with. Half of the songs sound like covers and the others are watered down with droning guitars and vocals. The words in the entire album have never been anything special, but the choruses in Cash Cow and It’s a Hit make me want to shoot a bullet in my ear. Such pretentiousness is much better suited for…well, nothing.
Despite my grievances, these three indie rockers have squeezed out some nuggets of pop sensibility worthy of applause. The Majority of the songs have feel-good sounding verses and breakdowns that grab your head-bobbing attention. Can’t Lose and The Great Escape are little diamonds in the rough. The Great Escape’s pounding urgency and Devo inspired lyrics make you want to hit the repeat button and forget the songs that follow. Can’t Lose’s sputtering drums, atmospheric guitar riffs, and slowed down vocals shows what these three are capable of. Hopefully they can tap into this for their next album.