We Are Scientists are back with a follow up to their break out record ‘With Love and Squalor’. The band has switched gears slightly and seems a bit more mainstream friendly this time around, catering to some of the new fans as well as the soon-to-be-fans.
“Let’s See It” starts with a guitar lick that pops in and out during the song, that with the catchy vocal melody makes the song very memorable. The chorus is big and fluffy with layers of sounds and instruments, the kind of sound that radio stations like and ones that end up filling arenas. “After Hours” is another huge radio hit which is a bit more ridged, similar to The Stokes style, and is also reminiscent of the band’s prior album although there doesn’t seem to be that same angst and drive that ‘With Love and Squalor’ had.
2008 must be the year natural progressions as it seems bands aren’t really taking huge chances. ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’ falls in the bucket with all the rest of albums that are not the exact same as the previous effort but it feels like the band played it safe with the songs. Maybe these radio anthems are the mark of great song writing or maybe they are the result of being scared to take chances.
Most of the 11 tracks blend together and rarely grabs your attention. Not counting the already mentioned radio friendly tracks that begin the record, “Lethal Enforcer” and “Impatience” do shine through and are small rays of starlight in a dark night sky. “Lethal Enforcer” lays down a thick groove and then riffs on it for the entire length. Vocally, Keith Murray is able to break up the song and give it the texture and depth it needs. “Altered Beast” is a song that may peak your interest at first but by the end its gotten so repetitive that chances are you’ll skip it next time it comes around.
This album will no doubt bring a lot of new fans into the mix that the last album failed to gather but I would be wary to jump in with out testing the waters first to make sure this is for you.
Track Listing
1. “Ghouls”
2. “Let’s See It”
3. “After Hours”
4. “Lethal Enforcer”
5. “Impatience”
6. “Tonight”
7. “Spoken For”
8. “Altered Beast”
9. “Chick Lit”
10. “Dinosaurs”
11. “That’s What Counts”
2 Comments
I was really looking forward to this, having loved “With Love and Squalor”, and then “After Hours” got me even more excited. Then the album turned out to be a bit….well, ****, as you said.
I agree, I got this album being a huge WAS fan, and this one’s a disappointment. Lethal Enforcer and That’s What Counts have to be the worst tracks on the album being that they try to sound so 1980’s pop-rock, it makes WAS sound like Duran Duran. Some songs are great (After Hours, Chick Lit) but most of the album is completely boring.
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