We Are Scientists is a New York City-based
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band that formed in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, in 1999.
It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band in the studio and for live performances since 2013.
The band have released seven studio albums, not including their early release ''
Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order)
''Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order)'' is the first release by indie rock band We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and ...
'', which the band have gone on to describe as more of a rough draft, than a proper album.
The band's breakthrough success came with their debut studio album, ''
With Love and Squalor,'' which sold
100,000 copies in the first six months. This was followed by the releases of ''
Brain Thrust Mastery'' in 2008, ''
Barbara'' in 2010, ''
TV en Français'' in 2014, ''
Helter Seltzer'' in 2016, ''
Megaplex
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...
'' in 2018 and ''
Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is a supplier of bicycles with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and in 1890 moved its sewing machine fa ...
'' in 2021.
As well as music, Keith and Chris are known for their comedy, often injecting humour into their interviews, press-releases and off-the-cuff jokes at their live shows. This has been carried over as part of producing many of their own music video treatments and their 2009 series of television shorts ''Steve Wants His Money'' made for MTV,
as well as a podcast series titled ''Dumpster Dive'' in 2020.
History
1999–2004: Formation and ''Safety, Fun, and Learning''
Keith Murray and Chris Cain met in 1997 whilst attending
Pomona College
Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...
in
Claremont, California. Keith had just transferred to Pomona and Chris was holding a
Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
viewing party and quickly bonded over a mutual love of stand-up comedy, film and television.
In late 1999, after graduating and moving to
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, they hatched the idea for the band. Murray, Cain along with their roommate, Scott Lamb, who was also a fellow alum from Pomona College cofounded the group. Lamb originally played guitar and provided vocals, whilst Cain played bass and Murray played drums as well as handling vocals.
The three of them chose the name We Are Scientists, after renting a truck from U-Haul. When they returned it, the inspector, after looking them up and down and assessing their wardrobe, asked if they were scientists.
Some publications later claimed their band name to be a reference to a
Cap'n Jazz song of the same name, whilst others believing it to be a homage to the
Guided by Voices track "I Am a Scientist", both of which the band have unequivocally denied.
Touching on the subject in their Dumpster Dive podcast, Cain jested "I can say that pretty unequivocally that if we had known of Cap'n Jazz at the time of naming our band, we would not have named it We Are Scientists.".
When it came to songwriting, Keith, Scott and Chris' were particularly influenced by films, comic books, with many of their earliest songs about fighting monsters.
Keith and Chris moved to the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
area in late 2000, without Scott, recruiting Michael Tapper, whom they'd known during their time at Pomona, and who was in his last year at adjoining
Harvey Mudd College.
Michael would take drums over from Keith, who would now be the band's vocalist and guitarist, whilst Cain would continue playing bass.
Moving again, the band relocated to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York in 2001 and began recording material in November, 2001.
The band finished recording in January 2002, completing 12 tracks - two of which credit former member Scott Lamb.
The releases title was announced on March 14, 2002, on the band's official website as ''
Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order)
''Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order)'' is the first release by indie rock band We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and ...
'' for release in April 2002 through the band's own label, Devious Semantics. Due to issues with setting up their own label, it wasn't until June that the band were able to release the record.
The summer saw them reunite with original vocalist Scott Lamb.
In October after several months of performing in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and New York, amongst other places the band recorded their first EP, available originally only at live shows ''Bitching!'' was released on October 14, 2002, and featured 6 tracks. Later ''Bitching!'' was made available online on January 16, 2003.
In March 2003 the band announced they would be heading to the recording studio with Paolo DeGregorio on April 1 to record a second EP;
In Action,
which was released through MotherWest records in October 2003, featuring 6 tracks.
A year after recording ''
In Action'' the band headed once more to the recording studio with Los Angeles-based producer Chris Fudurich, where they recorded rough versions of "The Great Escape", "Scene Is Dead" and "This Means War", which would make up half of the band's final independently released EP The Wolf's Hour, other tracks included "Callbacks Under The Sea", "Inaction" and "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt". The EP was released on November 26, 2004.
2005–2006: ''With Love and Squalor'' and breakthrough success
![We Are Scientists Mainz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/We_Are_Scientists_Mainz.JPG)
On January 11, 2005, the band began the recording of their first, proper full-length album in Los Angeles with Ariel Rechtshaid and engineering from Rob Brill.
The band ended their time in the studio on February 23, throughout their time in the studio the band posted blogs on their official website, many of which told of a
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
called Lewis, which would later be used on the album's artwork.
Having recorded the album, the band decided to sign to
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
to handle to release.
On May 15, 2005, the first single from the album was aired in the UK, "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt", this came after a number of dates in the UK with
Editors
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...
.
"Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" was released later on June 27 at the same time as their own headline Summer 2005 UK tour.
In July the band shot a music video for their second single, "The Great Escape", as well as appearing on
MTV2 for the first time to plug their upcoming release.
The band also appeared on at
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...
for the first time, performing on the Carling Stage, and later the band released the album ''
With Love and Squalor'' in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2005
celebrating with an album signing session and intimate gig in London's Selectdisc on Berwick Street.
In December 2005 the band made their U.S.
Network television
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
debut on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman'' where they performed "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt", as well as announcing the release of their debut album, ''
With Love and Squalor'' which would be released on January 10, 2006,
although in January the band would be in the United Kingdom on the
NME Shockwaves Tour with
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...
,
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
and
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...
,
before embarking on their own headline tour in April and releasing "Its a Hit" on February 20 and re-releasing "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt" on May 3.
In September a co-headline tour across the US with
Art Brut and a new split single with Art Brut covering W.A.S single "The Great Escape" and in-turn We Are Scientists covering Art Brut's "Bang Bang Rock & Roll".
With their ongoing success in the United Kingdom the band embarked on another full 15 date tour, with two nights at Brixton Academy in London due to demand,
it was on this tour that the band released ''
Crap Attack'', a compilation album of B-sides and covers, as well as a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
featuring music videos for all of the tracks on With Love and Squalor and live performances.
2007–2008: Departure of Michael Tapper and ''Brain Thrust Mastery''
![We Are Scientists 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/We_Are_Scientists_1.jpg)
In January 2007 Murray announced that he had begun working on the band's follow-up to ''With Love and Squalor'' in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York,
previewing "Impatience" and "Spoken For" later that month.
During a UK tour that February they debuted the songs "Dinosaurs", "Chick Lit" and "Best Behavior".
Recording of the new album began on June 11 in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
with Ariel Rechtshaid
and ended on July 19.
That August the band made their second appearance at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...
, performing on the
Radio One Stage.
September 2007 saw the band hire Max Hart as an additional guitarist and keyboard player for live performances.
The addition of Hart was to fit the larger arrangements of new material. Days before the tour was due to start, drummer
Michael Tapper
Michael Tapper is an American musician and member of the Los Angeles band Fool's Gold. He was a member of the indie rock band We Are Scientists, with Keith Murray and Chris Cain, until November 2007. He played the drums for the band and assiste ...
quit the band.
Gary Powell and Adam Aaronson took over from Tapper for the remainder of the tour.
For eight of their November tour dates the band acted as their own support act, conducting "self-improvement seminars" under the name Brain Thrust Mastery.
After Virgin merged in 2007, the band were now signed to
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
. Murray stated that the band had to deal with a lot of bureaucracy recording the new album, with EMI unhappy that they were working with producer Ariel Rechtshaid; who at the time was relatively unknown. EMI instead tried setting the band up with various "cheesy, cheesy, big producers who we didn't like at all".
[ Ultimately, against their labels wishes the band did record with Rechtshaid and in March 2008 the band announced that '' Brain Thrust Mastery'' would also be the name of their new album. Garrett Ray handled drum duties for the album. The first single from the record, " After Hours", was to be released on March 3 in the UK. The album was previewed a week before its UK release on ]NME.com
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
. It came out in the United States on May 13.
"Chick Lit
Chick lit is a term used to describe a type of popular fiction targeted at younger women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers while writers and critics have rejected its inherent sexism. Novels id ...
" was released as the second single from ''Brain Thrust Mastery'' on June 9, coinciding with performances at The Great Escape Festival, Oxegen Festival Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
and Reading and Leeds on the main stage, and a consequent North American tour in July. In the latter part of 2008 the band toured the US as support to Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and ga ...
in the USA. "Impatience" was the final single from the album, released on October 27.
2009–2011: ''Steve Wants His Money'' TV shorts and ''Barbara''
In October 2009, Chris Cain and Keith Murray co-created a short television series for MTV, titled ''Steve Wants His Money''. The series premiered on October 25, 2009, during the ''Lil MTV'' was created with MTV production company Ja Digital. The series focuses around We Are Scientists playing fictional versions of themselves, owing an American man, Steve, money and consequently running away to England where they attempt to sell off various marketing ideas to musicians, journalists, music DJs and promoters. The band had hoped to make a second series, however it ultimately did not materialise.
Having worked with a number of different drummers since Michael Tapper's departure in 2007, the band announced that Andy Burrows
Andrew William Burrows (born 30 June 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He's best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He's also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 to ...
would be joining them for recording and touring. The band had originally intended on using a succession of drummers on their third album; however after Burrows left his band Razorlight
Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...
, he became their permanent drummer. In February 2010 they announced that their new record would be titled '' Barbara'' and would be released on June 14, 2010. This would also be the first release through the band's own label, Master Swan Recordings, with distribution handled by PIAS Recordings
PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...
.
Burrows made his live debut with the band at a surprise NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
awards show at Camden Barfly on February 21, 2010. Demonstrating the more stripped-back guitar-centric sound of Barbara, the band were now performing predominately as a three-piece, without Max Hart, although Hart amongst other musicians would occasionally feature at live shows for performances of "After Hours". As Burrows was involved in a number of other projects, the band hired Danny Allen to perform and tour with them, with Allen occasionally handling keyboards at shows where Burrows was drumming.[ The band released their first single from Barbara on April 5, 2010, titled " Rules Don't Stop", which peaked at number 14 in the UK Singles Chart. A second single " Nice Guys" was released on June 7, the week before the release of album ''Barbara''. The band would make appearances at a number of major festivals that summer, including ]T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
, Glastonbury Festival and Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...
.
Days after the album release on June 10, 2010, the band released their World Cup Anthem "Goal! England!" in support of the England national team's campaign in the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. As well as releasing the single, the band launched their website for the son
goalengland.co.uk/
with videos of the recording.
In August 2010, We Are Scientists and Ash notably co-headlined two show in Australia as well as performing at Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
in Woodford, Queensland
Woodford is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Woodford had a population of 3,458 people.
The town is noted for the Woodford Folk Festival that takes place over the New Year hol ...
. At their two co-headline shows the bands came together to form ''WASH''; performing a number of covers together as an encore set. A year later the two bands came together again to release a cover of a track called "Washington Parks" by Robert Manning. The track was covered to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis Society. The final single to be taken from ''Barbara'' was "I Don't Bite" which was released on October 11, 2010.
2011–2014: ''Business Casual'' and ''TV en Français''
A new album was first teased by the band at The Isle of Weight Festival 2011, where Murray suggested the band would be recording in Autumn that year. It was in 2012 that the band actually began recording new material, working with producer Chris Coady in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, where both Keith Murray & Chris Cain reside. The band worked in a number of New York studios, predominately The Magic Shop, DNA Studio and Ash's home studio Atomic Heart. In December 2012 that drummer Andy Burrows confirmed that they had finished work on their new album, with intent to release in ''early 2013''.
Due to the fact the band had recorded without a record label, and had also fired their management after ''Barbara'', the band then spent a lot of 2013 label shopping and looking for new management.[ Realising they would be unable to put the album out that year, the band released a two-track single featuring the songs "Something About You" and "Let Me Win". The single was released through their own record label Master Swan Records and ]Neon Gold Records
Neon Gold Records is a New York City-based boutique record label founded in 2008 by Derek Davies and Lizzy Plapinger.
Initially operating as a vinyl-only singles label, Neon Gold has launched the debut releases and international careers of ma ...
on July 16. New material was further previewed across a string of UK tour dates in July. Eventually the band signed to release the finished album with 100% Records, putting out a ''teaser'' EP titled ''Business Casual
Business casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart (in the sense of "well dressed") components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear, adopted for white-colla ...
'' on October 14, 2013. The EP includes lead singles "Return the Favor" and "Dumb Luck" along with album off cut "Good Answer", a demo of new track "Courage" and a cover of Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
's "Take My Breath Away
"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film ''Top Gun'', performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best ...
" - which features ''occasional scientist'' Max Hart on pedal-steel guitar. Andy Burrows had recorded drums for the album and subsequent EP and singles, but by the time the band were eventually able to release and tour Burrows was busy with his solo-career. This led to Keith Carne taking over the majority of live commitments, with Burrows stepping in for occasional dates, depending on his availability.[
In January 2014, the band announced that the album would finally be released on March 3, 2014, through 100% Records and would be titled '' TV en Français''. Accompanying the album announcement was the music video for new single "Dumb Luck". Soon after the announcement the band revealed another new track titled "Make it Easy", which was made available to download to those who pre-ordered the album.
On February 9, 2014, the band performed "Make It Easy" acoustically on Channel 4's '']Sunday Brunch
''Sunday Brunch'' is a British television programme presented by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It is broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings and features cookery and interviews with celebrity guests.
Format
The programme began on 25 ...
''. The band appeared for a third time on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' on May 21, 2015, performing single "Make It Easy".
Across the summer, the band performed at Rock Am Ring in Germany, Godiva Festival
The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park, Coventry, England, named after the city's famous former inhabitant Lady Godiva. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a 3-day event t ...
, T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
and Reading and Leeds festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fes ...
2014 in the United Kingdom.
In support of their co-headline tour with Surfer Blood
Surfer Blood is an American indie rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, currently signed to Kanine Records, formerly signed to Joyful Noise Recordings and Warner Bros. Records. The band has four members: John Paul Pitts (lead ...
, the band recorded a new track titled "Distillery" which would accompany a new Surfer Blood track on a split-single, available at shows on the tour.
As part of Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2015 the band would release ''TV en Français, Sous la Mer'' through Dine Alone Records. ''TV en Français, Under the Sea'' would feature eight reworked tracks from ''TV en Français'', with a stripped back arrangement. The reworked version "Overreacting" was released as a music video on 8 April 2015.
2015–2017: ''Helter Seltzer''
On March 18, 2016, the band released their new single "Buckle", announcing that it was the first offering from their upcoming fifth studio album '' Helter Seltzer''. The band had been recording new material with "occasional-scientist" Max Hart, who previously joined the band during the ''Brian Thrust Mastery'' era as touring guitarist & keyboard player. The second single, "Too Late", from their upcoming album was released on April 2, 2016, with third single "Classic Love" arriving on April 14, 2016.
The band's fifth studio album, Helter Seltzer, was released on April 22, 2016, and was followed at the end of April, through to May with a tour of the United Kingdom.
On May 6, the band performed "Buckle", "In My Head" and "Too Late" on BT Sport's Football Tonight show. The following month on June 30, 2016, they performed "Buckle" on CBS's ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
''. In July, the band put out a music video for Helter Seltzer track "In My Head".
2018–2021: ''Megaplex'', ''Dumpster Dive'' podcast and ''Huffy''
On February 5, 2018, the band released the single "One In, One Out". Two more singles from their sixth studio album, ''Megaplex'', were released: "Your Light Has Changed" on 15 March 2018 and "Heart is a Weapon on May 20, 2018. Touring the United Kingdom in promotion of the record took place across March, April and May 2018. Keith and Chris wrote the majority of the album's tracks in sessions for a songwriting club called 'Song Challenge', with Cain describing it as a collective who compete to each write 10 songs in 8 hours and drink beer. The collective also includes Tim Wheeler from Ash, Annie Hart from Au Revoir Simone
Au Revoir Simone is an American indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The group is composed of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard/bass) and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard ...
and MGMT's Simon O'Connor. ''Megaplex'' was once again produced by ''Occasional Scientist'' Max Heart, and recorded across various sessions in 2017 in New York City.
On February 15, 2019, the band released "Second Acts". A compilation, ''Megaplex: Rise of the Lycans'', a deluxe version of the album ''Megaplex'' with new songs and other material was released on 19 April 2019. The release was supported by a tour across the United States supporting Snow Patrol.
For Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
on April 13, 2019, We Are Scientists teamed up with Art Brut to release a mini-album ''WASABI'', featuring We Are Scientists covering two Art Brut songs and vice versa, as well as some unreleased tracks by Art Brut.
The band celebrated the 15th anniversary of debut record ''With Love and Squalor'', reissuing the album on vinyl on 17 October 2019. The reissue was followed by several dates performing the album in its entirety across Europe, in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
, Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, followed by four dates in the United Kingdom in December 2019. The anniversary celebrations continued with the release of an acoustic version of the album titled ''With Love And Squalor Live In Woodstock 1969'' on 6 December 2019.
In March 2020, as lockdown began for the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the band started a podcast series centred around dissecting their old material, but often spiralling out into random topics, called the ''Dumpster Dive''. During the first months of lockdown, the band also put out regular live streams on Instagram, featuring them discussing all manner of topics and performing their tracks.
On May 21, 2020, We Are Scientists appeared on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show, premiering their new single "I Cut My Own Hair". While the song was written long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of many people resorting to cutting their own hair made the band feel that the song had a new, different resonance and decided it was a fitting time to release the single. On May 22, they made "I Cut My Own Hair" available to stream and download, as well as releasing some merchandise to accompany the single. The track was also released in conjunction with the ''Big Buzz Off'' campaign, part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 for the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably.
In July 2021 the band announced their seventh studio album ''Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is a supplier of bicycles with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and in 1890 moved its sewing machine fa ...
'' would be released on October 8, 2021 through 100% Records. The announcement also included their new single "Contact High" and detailed their plans to tour the United Kingdom in November through December then and Europe in April 2022. The band released another single, "Sentimental Education" on October 6, 2021.
Across 2022 the band performed at a number of festivals, including Into the Wild, Y Not Festival
The Y Not Festival is an annual music festival held in Pikehall, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. It first took place in 2005, at a disused quarry site as a party for around 120 people organised by Ralph Broadbent who was planning a party in the g ...
and Victorious Festival.
2022-present: ''Lobes''
On September 21, 2022 the band released their new single "Operator Error". Days later the band announced their eighth studio album ''Lobes'' would be released on January 20, 2023 through 100% Records. The band also gave details of their planned tour of the United Kingdom, which would start in February 2023. The band released their second single "Less from You" on October 28. A third single, "Just Lucky to Be Here" was released on December 2.
Style and performance
Before their debut album, their earliest material often drew inspiration for lyrics from comic books and films, whilst the music drew from more punk influences. Keith Murray has cited the influence of such performers as The Rapture and David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
on their debut album. The band has noted that tracks on ''With Love and Squalor'' were largely written to be performed live, whilst ''Brain Thrust Mastery'' was a more specifically studio effort. Older influences include Brian Eno, Velvet Underground
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
, My Bloody Valentine and David Bowie's Berlin era as well as Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
and Fleetwood Mac.
Murray and Cain are known for incorporating comedy into their live performances, music videos and when giving interviews. British magazine God Is In The TV put forward that Keith Murray and Chris Cain demonstrated "sarcasm and wit not normally found coming from two of our American cousins", going on to put forward that this may have been lost in translation when the band first emerged to prominence in 2005. Writing for The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
, Ben Walsh wrote "they are incorrigible wags, who are refreshingly willing to riff on any given topic". Their live and interview "banter" is always off-the-cuff, with Murray insisting that the thought of ever rehearsing or reusing material makes him "cringe".[
The band come up with the majority of their music video concepts themselves. Earlier in the band's career the band frequently collaborated on music videos and other video content with ]Akiva Schaffer
Akiva D. Schaffer (; born December 1, 1977) is an American film director, comedian, actor, and writer. He is a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island along with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. He began his career with The Lonely Island maki ...
of The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'').
The three ...
.
Members
Since the departure of Michael Tapper in 2007, We Are Scientists has primarily consisted of Murray and Cain. Drummer Keith Carne has featured since 2013 in the studio, at live shows and in promotions such as music videos. Murray has stated that he and Cain "really consider him a part of the band", going on to joke that "it's the two of us, and then our drummer Keith Carne. That’s the real issue — having another Keith in the band. Too many Keiths." "Honorary Scientist" Max Hart performed guitars and keyboards with the band during their ''Brian Thrust Mastery'' era, and has sporadically featured at live shows since then as well as producing their albums ''Helter Seltzer'' and ''Megaplex''.
;Current members
*Keith Murray – lead vocals, guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
s, keyboards (1999–present), drums (1999)
*Chris Cain – bass, backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
(1999–present)
;Current touring members
*Keith Carne – drums, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
(2013–present)
;Former members
*Scott Lamb – guitar (1999; touring member 2002), lead vocals (1999), backing vocals, keyboards (2002)
*Michael Tapper – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2000–2007)
*Andy Burrows
Andrew William Burrows (born 30 June 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He's best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He's also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 to ...
– drums, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
, keyboards, backing vocals (2009–2014)
;Former touring members
*Danny Allen - keyboards, drums (2009–2012)
*Max Hart - guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2008–2010, 2013)
*Adam Aaronson - drums (2007–2009)
Timeline
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at:04/27/2018 color:black layer:back
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bar:Adam text:Adam Aaronson
bar:Carne text:Keith Carne
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bar:Scott from:04/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 color:keys width:5
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bar:Andy from:02/22/2010 till:01/01/2014 color:bvocals width:3
bar:Danny from:06/14/2010 till:01/01/2012 color:live
bar:Danny from:06/14/2010 till:01/01/2012 color:keys width:7
bar:Danny from:06/14/2010 till:01/01/2012 color:drums width:3
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bar:Carne from:05/01/2013 till:end color:bvocals width:3
Discography
Studio albums
*'' With Love and Squalor'' (2005)
*'' Brain Thrust Mastery'' (2008)
*'' Barbara'' (2010)
*'' TV en Français'' (2014)
*'' Helter Seltzer'' (2016)
*''Megaplex
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...
'' (2018)
*'' Huffy'' (2021)
References
External links
*
What's the Word
{{DEFAULTSORT:We Are Scientists
Dance-punk musical groups
Rock music groups from California
Indie rock musical groups from California
Post-punk revival music groups
Virgin Records artists
Alternative rock groups from California
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups from Berkeley, California
PIAS Recordings artists
Dine Alone Records artists
Dew Process artists
EMI Records artists
Grönland Records artists