WE ARE SCIENTISTS - 'HELTER SELTZER', ALBUM REVIEW

If you’ve taken the time out of your hectic life to read this blog then we assume you are already a fan of WAS? Let’s be real they aren’t the biggest rock band on the planet and over the years their popularity has declined. This isn’t, however, a bad thing; they seem to have morphed from a music indie trend into a band with a diverse discography and passionately loyal following. We can’t hide the fact that we are huge fans of We Are Scientists having seen them live more than a dozen times over the years we can vouch their credibility. They are a great live band with an even better back catalogue of music.

It’s been a decade since the release of, arguably, their most popular album ‘With Love and Squalor’ back in 2005. Since this historic occasion they have gone on to release another four studio albums with their latest, ‘Helter Seltzer’ coming a few weeks back. ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’ and ‘Barbara’ followed their 2005 release and likewise contributed to their fame and success. Barbara, released back in 2010, was the perfect album for that period of time; in the year of its release they co-headlined the NME Tent at Reading & Leeds Festival with the Klaxons. Years later when they released their 4th studio album ‘Tv En Francais’ they had tumbled down the pecking order of festival hierarchy, playing a midday slot on the Festival Republic stage. Although their fame seemed to decline over the years, we fail to recognise this as a bad thing for fans, we see ourselves as the lucky few who found the diamond in the rough. In turn the gigs are far more intimate, so much so that we are now at the stage where we recognise people in the crowds that we saw at previous gigs. A great sense of community between fans!

We aren’t here to badger on about the bands history though; the purpose of this blog is to review the NEW album. The vast majority of you would have heard the album by now, whether this is one or two songs or in full, everyone will be familiar at some capacity. We pre-ordered the deluxe edition of the album for our personal collection back in March. When it arrived we had only heard ‘Buckle’, ‘Too Late’ and ‘Classic Love’, so the rest of the album was an unknown entity to us. We sat down in our studio, satisfyingly unwrapped the brand new record, pulled out the limited edition teal coloured vinyl and sat it on the turntable. We feel it’s a good way to first listen to an album in full, block yourself from all other distractions sit back relax and enjoy. Obviously this doesn’t go for all albums, if you’ve just picked up a Slayer record it’s likely that sitting still and relaxing are the last things on your mind, maybe think about clearing the room and quarantining an area for some serious solo moshing. But we knew roughly what to expect with this new WAS edition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le7kyRgMsuE

Buckle was the first release, and as would be expected one of the albums strongest tracks. We absolutely love this track, it's cemented itself as an integral part of our summer playlist for sure. It has a bit of Barbara and a bit of TV En Francais about it for sure, still a long shot away from WLAS but a song that would see them moving forward rather than backwards. Accompanied by an epic video of a one way food fight between Keith and Chris, the pair live up to their reputation as class A jokers. The album as a whole has a prominent Electro-Pop vibe with the exception of ‘Headlights’ and ‘In My Head’ which see the band revert back to their tempo based erratic ways. Naming these two songs as ‘erratic’ just shows how far the band has come over the years, if you dropped these two songs into WLAS they would be deemed as ballads in comparison to the rest. The creations from new era We Are Scientists are far more soft and melodic than their elder siblings. Fluidity is key on ‘Helter Seltzer’ the songs flow from one to another seamlessly easily capable of lulling you into a state of dreamy sedation with electronic percussion and 80’s keyboard. The song constructions are less traditional and basic with a little more depth and elegance. ‘Too Late’ sounds like a song that wouldn’t be out of place on a Bastille record, it seems this is the direction they are trying to go at the moment with less focus on their somewhat garage indie roots and more on the airy indie pop sound we hear with a lot of today’s successful bands.

We feel ‘Helter Seltzer’ is the perfect album for a midday slot on any major festivals main stage as the sun shines down gloriously on the alcohol induced crowd. It can succeed in putting a smile on anyone’s face. Despite their continual style movement this album remains firmly an indie classic, it does stand a head above the rest due to its easily distinguishable originality and professional finish though. If we had the opportunity to sit down and speak to We Are Scientists prior to the release of album number 6 we know exactly what we would say. Much like a lot of fans, we assume, our word of advice would be too loop back round too their beginnings. Don’t get us wrong we love the new album it’s incomparable to WLAS, they are two completely different albums. But after three softer records we feel it’s time for them to head back to the funky indie riffs and garage drive of songs like ‘It’s A Hit’, ‘Worth The Wait’, ‘Callbacks’ and ‘Cash Cow’. What an epic turn of events that would be! They may feel that an album of this calibre has no place in today’s market but we would highly contest that notion. The industry is crying out for one of today’s indie bands to rediscover their balls and throw some punches. With Love and Squalor went down so well back in 2005 and we feel that there is a place for a like-minded album in 2017. So, Keith and Chris, please if you’re reading this we love your NEW album but when your next project comes to fruition can we maybe take a blast to the past and reignite that raw indie funk we know courses through your veins?