We Are Scientists – With Love and Squalor / 2006 Virgin / 12 Tracks / http://www.wearescientists.com / http://www.virgin.com / Reviewed 02 February 2006

It is quite possible that individuals have already heard “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” through their hip and savvy independent radio station. It’s the track that takes the dance-punk of the early oughts and mixes it with the Duran Duran / New Order brand of dance that hit it big for so many years in the mid eighties. In a sense, “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” comes through in many ways as comparable to The Bravery and Franz Ferdinand.

One thing that comes through at all points during “With Love and Squalor” is the fact that We Are Scientists always have an unrestrained punk fury to them that is moderated by their dance and new Romantic influences. Another omnipresent thing for We Are Scientists has to be a certain distorted fuzz that says much about another set of their influences; they are, at least in some minor sense, a band that still takes the retro revolution to heart. The band is not trying to be another incarnation of The Stoogers, but rather tie together a number of disparate elements to come up with a very bouncy and fresh sound on “With Love and Squalor”.

In a sense, a track like “Can’t Lose” actually has a vocal inflection that really brings listeners back to the halcyon days of 1998 when the Gallaghers were at the top of the music world, and what We Are Scientists really add to this equation is a sly sound that recontextualizes the Oasis influence into something that does not seem embarrassing in 2006. Further tracks, like “Callbacks” show We Are Scientists as a band that really have their influences on their shoulders; the entire atmosphere present on the track screams Radiohead, while “Cash Cow” comes forth (aside from the Franz Ferdinand geometry) with a very early Cure type of sound. At some point, We Are Scientists tie everything together to make an album that never stops rocking; when the band goes full bore and throws in a multitude of voices and a much-louder bass into the mix (as is the case with “It’s A Hit”), they can rival acts like the Foo Fighters for rock potential. Coming into their own with “With Love and Squalor”, We Are Scientists exist on a number of nexuses, whether it be in one combining a disparate amount of influences or overall styles. This new brand of rock should be what one should expect for the post-dancepunk world of 2006.

Top Tracks: It’s A Hit, Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt

Rating: 7.4/10

[JMcQ]