Katuwapitiya

We Are Scientists joined on stage by Arctic Monkeys, circa 2006 at The Kool Haus

Note to start with: To me and most I know, the first album released by We Are Scientists was With Love and Squalor. When researching for the interview/review, it came to my knowledge that there was an album before that one. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll stick to what I thought was right for the article.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with We Are Scientists over the years. When they first blew up on the scene (after the release of With Love and Squalor), I loved their kick-ass immediately-accessible indie rock, hilarious personalities and innovative videos. When they released their next album… well, I hated stuff like this. I wasn’t sure what to expect from their third album but I was optimistic. The addition of former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows was an intriguing one. That and a few shining moments on an album that I was honestly not-too-keen on had me interested to hear what was next.

Overall, Barbara did not disappoint. Save for a few low spots in the middle, the album is much more consistent than their previous effort Brain Thrust Mastery and is really a return to form. Highlights include Foreign Kicks (which showcases an entirely different sound), Rules Don’t Stop, Central AC and You Should Learn, and some tracks definitely rise to the mark set by their incredible first album.

Bands are always chastised for staying in their comfort zone and making songs that all sound the same (anywhere from The Strokes to Nickelback), but I’m someone who likes what he likes. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like their second album as much. The new album, however, has much more of a balance that appeals to me and is definitely worth a listen. (An added note: the liner notes will actually make you laugh out loud).

We Are Scientists are set to return to Toronto with an upcoming show at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern on July 19th. I was able to interview Keith Murray from We Are Scientists a few days ago and below is our conversation:

Your first album and second album seemed to showcase completely different styles of music. For those who have yet to hear a song from Barbara, what would you describe this album as/what were your main influences?

I think maybe our impression of the disparity between our first two records is less extreme than yours – for us, the second record was simply a little less single-minded than the first. We certainly did try to stretch our legs a little, stylistically, but, overall, we feel like most of the songs sit very comfortably against one another in our live set. That said, Barbara is a little more similar to the first record in terms of arrangement (i.e., with fairly stripped-down, three-piece instrumentation), but we feel like the songs are stronger, following the general progression of maturation that’s been happening since the first record.

From the start, your band has seemed focused on making great music videos. What do you feel like the role should be for music videos, especially in this new youtube age where bands seem to be going more and more obsessed with going viral?

We have a hard time thinking of our videos as advertisements for our songs, and, as such, I think they tend to be pretty bad at focusing the viewer’s attention on the music. As pieces of entertainment, though, I think our videos are second-to-none, which is really all we attempt to do in any facet of our career, so, in that sense, they are of a piece with the rest of our creative output. If people like them, then that’s great – that is, in fact, the point – but to make a video with the intent of making go viral seems slightly beside the point. OkGo are obviously masters at doing that sort of thing, but thinking about all of the creative energy that goes into crafting a virally-pointed video such as theirs is exhausting to me. We tend to just go with our guts and try to make something that will entertain us.

As scientists, what do you feel the connection is between science and music?

No connection.

Do you have any suggestions for how a band should best deal with a change in membership?

Just get on with it, I say. If an audience wants to get bent out of shape about the absence or presence of one particular person, then, I guess ultimately, that’s their problem, and they need to figure out how they’re going to cope with it. When we split with our former drummer, it was for the immediate best for all parties concerned, and I’m fairly certain that nobody involved has ever regretted the decision at all. Chris and I prefer to spend our time thinking about how to make awesome stuff for people to enjoy, not worrying about how to spin our PR.

Who’s your favourite ‘Barbara’? (for the record, mine is Walters)

My favorite Barbara is Barbara Zeltman (you don’t know her).

We Are Scientists are well known for being funny. If you’re needing to break the ice at an awkward party, what joke do you start with?

Q; Where did the General keep his armies?
A: In his sleevies.
I can’t tell you how many women I’ve bedded using that little bon mot as an opening line.

The last time I saw you perform in Toronto, it was opening for Kings of Leon. How do you feel about their recent worldwide success after struggling to gain traction in North America for so long? Has it taught you anything?

The fact that Kings of Leon would ever have been thought of as a “struggling” band is a little baffling to me. I’ve always considered them to be pretty high-profile, and it seems like it was only a matter of time before their gargantuan success in Europe caught on over here, and they went from being simply a huge band to being the hugest. I guess the infrastructure of the music industry, especially the PR and marketing facet, finally just clicked for them. It’s nice when a label actually pumps huge sums of money into a band that actually writes good songs.

What’s your favourite part about performing in Canada, or more specifically, Toronto?

Going to Tim Horton’s. We just can’t get enough. There’s one in downtown Brooklyn, now, near the DMV, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be the same in our country.

Freestyling is an important form of expression in hip hop. If you had to freestyle four lines about your new album, what would you say?

Barbara is a new album / It’s better then pabulum / It’s very palatable / So, buyers, be charitable.

It’s taken me this long to write a post because I’ve been unable to put into words my love for the new Titus Andronicus album “The Monitor”. I have yet to skip a song while listening to the album, even though most of the songs are more than 8 minutes long. It’s that good. The album starts off with an incredible excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address:

“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?– Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!–All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide”

It makes me feel American pride and I’m a Canadian. The concept of the album is awesome, a perfectly-utilized civil war theme is consistent throughout. Speeches from Lincoln and abolitionists are interspersed between tracks like “Four score and seven” and “The Battle of Hampton Roads”. But this isn’t like some sort of civil war re-enactment with weird men in stuffy suits shooting fake guns. Each song builds into some incredible melodies and kick-ass riffs. The vibe of the whole album reminds me of Bright Eyes with more of an edge (sort of like in his song “Hot Knives“). And the lyrics, the lyrics are just incredible. Off the top of my head, this has become a favourite:

“I’ve been called out, cuckolded, castrated, but I survived. I am covered in urine and excrement but I’m alive. And there’s a white flag in my pocket, never to be unfurled. Though with their hands ’round my ankles, they bring me down for another swirl. And they tell me, ‘take it easy buddy – it’s not the end of the world’”

I cannot state this strongly enough. Listen to this album. Don’t skip a song because you don’t like how it starts or because the vocals initially rub you the wrong way. You will not be disappointed. This album is phenomenal.

… Oh and did I mention that they’re touring right now? Here’s the album closer “The Battle of Hampton Roads” and just wait for the mystery instrument to kick in at the end. It blew me away. Literally. I fell down and had scrapes on my elbows resembling a bike accident after listening to this song.

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“And so now when I drink, I’m going to drink to excess,
And when I smoke, I will smoke gaping holes in my chest,
And when I scream, I will scream until I’m gasping for breath,
And when I get sick, I will stay sick for the rest,
Of my days peddling hate out the back of a Chevy Express,
Each one a fart in the face of your idea of success”

The Antlers live at Horseshoe Tavern

I picked up this album after seeing The Antlers open up for Frightened Rabbit on July 22 at Horseshoe Tavern. I was heavily impressed by the epic nature of their live set and had to hear what the studio version sounded like. The tragic theme behind this album is the story of losing someone to cancer, slowly on a hospital bed. Every song ties back to this relatable and unfortunate aspect of life and I honestly can’t remember the last time I have felt such emotion listening to an album (the last song to give me a similar feeling was Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens, similar theme too). These days, it’s rare to find me doing anything other than random shuffling through songs on my Zune, but this album cannot be picked apart. Every song flows into the next and they all tell such a vivid story.

Peter Silberman of The Antlers

When the lead singer of The Antlers, Peter Silberman, goes into his higher register, he reminds me of Patrick Watson or even Jeff Buckley. The dreamy instrumentation and arrangements complement his voice perfectly and give the incredible lyrics even more depth. This is probably nowhere truer than in “Wake”, the poignant 8 minute masterpiece on the latter part of the album. The best song I’ve heard all year, it slowly builds into a repetition of the phrase “don’t ever, let anyone, tell you you deserve that.” Listen below:

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