Acoustic Dreams &
Hardcore Screams

Tell me, have you ever seen We Are Scientists live? They’re not mind-blowing, they’re not revolutionary and they’re most certainly not in your face. No, what We Are Scientists bring to the gig playing table is charisma, humour (albeit a little warped and twisted at times) and an honest indie pop party. We Are Scientists have given us some of the catchiest fun-loving songs ever made in the past decade of rock music – their riffs make you want to dance around and their lyrics are full of wit and cheekiness.


Opening with their current single ‘Nice Guys’; the night was already off to a hyperactive happy start. Do you know one depressing We Are Scientists song? No. Exactly. Don’t you dare try and go to see them live and not smile because believe me, you will not achieve it. Go on, give it a go. I mean it.

And so the night went on with well-loved upbeat tracks like ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’ contrasted with the toned down melody of songs like ‘Pittsburgh’ off of their newest album ‘Barbara’. All of this Scientist goodness was interspersed with banter and wit only Keith Murray and Chris Cain could pull off without frowns and confusion. The thing about this band is that they shouldn’t make sense – one looks like he should actually be a scientist with his neat facial hair and round-rimmed glasses and the other looks like a younger George Clooney with a floppy grey fringe instead of a crew cut one.

I have to tell you that it is so refreshing to watch an unconventional rock-band set-up achieve what We Are Scientists do. They exude likability and have the talent to make a slick beat sound just as polished as a pop doused song. There are times when you wonder if you’re at an alternative comedy show or not with their odd observational comments and weird made-up tales; one of which involved Chris stealing Keith’s baby and selling it. Maybe you had to be there.

The set list was a ferocious frenzy of their three studio albums infused together. ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘It’s A Hit’ off of their first album? Sure. ‘Chick Lit’ and ‘After Hours’ from their second? You got it. ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ off of their THIRD? Well now, they treated us to that too. It was so hit-tastic that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at a We Are Scientists Greatest Hits event... but then you realise that’s because their best known songs and singles ALL sound like hits. It’s that simple. They’re one of those bands that can play their songs perfectly live and their energy never falters. Not once.

I’m going to put myself out there now and say that towards the point where they exited the stage for the first time I was feeling tired. The end of the working week fatigue had kicked in with a vengeance and damn it, I wanted my bed. Then the encore came and we sidled to the back of the crowd to the bar so I could get some water to quench my weary thirst (hardcore isn’t hardcore enough to describe me). Still they were hitting us hard but I just couldn’t summon the energy; not even for a yawn. But then something beautiful happened. To close the whole night they played ‘Cash Cow’ and some sparkly kind of radiance shone down on me and I danced, oh yes, I danced. You want to hear a song that gives you a new lease of E-Number-type vibe? You need to hear ‘Cash Cow’ live.

This live review has contained a lot of questions, most of them rhetoric. One thing you could never question is We Are Scientists’ ability to rock your socks off. Those two cool cats sure know a thing or two about making magical music.