
We Are Scientists
With Love And Squalor
Virgin
2006
C+

The album cannot be accused of aiming low. Each song from start to finish goes right for your vital organs, albeit with only a couple finding success. “Nobody Move…” is a “Somebody Told Me” sound-alike without the upfront, gossipy lyrics, and “Cash Cow” is a crowded and noisier take on “No, Not Now.” While We Are Scientists have put more six-string on their album than the Killers or HHH, their overall sound still feels shallow by comparison. Whether this is because the other two bands both employ keyboard sounds to take things up one more stratosphere is a debatable point.
“Can’t Lose,” the best track here, shows both why We Are Scientists might be either very bad or very good poker players. For 11 tracks, they lay all their cards out on the table right away for everyone to see, which might seem all right for the short term but can quickly be picked up by the experienced. But for one three-and-a-half minute stretch, they contain themselves long enough to craft a really solid piece of rock and roll (which makes the title “Can’t Lose” that much more apt). This ends up reflecting well on the rest of their work, bringing us the promise of future evolutions on forthcoming albums, and that might be where they get the better of the Killers and Hot Hot Heat. By no means have We Are Scientists made a great record, but it shows enough promise to make us believe that it might just be possible in the future.

Reviewed by: Matt Sheardown Reviewed on: 2006-01-18 Comments (2) |
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