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 Wale ...
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 Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
, 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 eight 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
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although t ...
'', 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
''With Love and Squalor'' is the major label debut album from rock band We Are Scientists. It was released in the United Kingdom in October 2005 on Virgin Records and charted at 43, with a large cult following which enabled it to after nea ...
,'' which sold
100,000
100,000 (one hundred thousand) is the natural number following 99,999 and preceding 100,001. In scientific notation, it is written as 105.
Terms for 100,000
In Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and South Asia, one hundred thousand is called a lakh ...
copies in the first six months. This was followed by the releases of ''
Brain Thrust Mastery'' in 2008, ''
Barbara'' in 2010, ''
TV en Français
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
'' in 2014, ''
Helter Seltzer'' in 2016, ''
Megaplex'' in 2018, ''
Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is the largest U.S. market-share supplier of bicycles with its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when George Huffman, George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Se ...
'' in 2021 and ''
Lobes'' in 2023.
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 university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...
in
Claremont, California
Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...
. 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. It aired from January 20, 19 ...
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 Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
, they hatched the idea for the band. Murray and Cain, along with their roommate, Scott Lamb, 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
Cap'n Jazz (sometimes stylised as caP'n Jazz) is an American emo band from Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
History
Brothers Tim Kinsella and Mike Kinsella formed the band Toe Jam with Victor Villarreal, and Sam Zurick, in 1989, before eventually ...
song of the same name, whilst others believing it to be a homage to the
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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
Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, focused on science and engineering. It is part of the Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds and resources. The college enrolled 902 undergra ...
.
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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, 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
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although t ...
'' 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
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

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''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
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 British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
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, 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, organization, a ...
.
"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
MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision.
The channel launched initially as an all-music ...
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 Fest ...
for the first time, performing on the Carling Stage, and later the band released the album ''
With Love and Squalor
''With Love and Squalor'' is the major label debut album from rock band We Are Scientists. It was released in the United Kingdom in October 2005 on Virgin Records and charted at 43, with a large cult following which enabled it to after nea ...
'' 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
A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...
debut on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' where they performed "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt", as well as announcing the release of their debut album, ''
With Love and Squalor
''With Love and Squalor'' is the major label debut album from rock band We Are Scientists. It was released in the United Kingdom in October 2005 on Virgin Records and charted at 43, with a large cult following which enabled it to after nea ...
'' 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, formed on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The founding members still part of the band consist of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Henry Harrison (lyrics), and Kapil Trivedi (dr ...
,
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...
and
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band currently consists of Paul Smith (English singer), Paul Smith (lead vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Tom Engli ...
,
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
Art Brut is an English indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition ...
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 ki ...
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''

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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
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 Fest ...
, 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 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 (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. 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.] 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 women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers, with numerous writers and critics rejecting it as inherently sexist. Nove ...
" 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
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
, 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 ...
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 music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...
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
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, 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 is best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He has also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 ...
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 Dalem ...
, 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 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...
.
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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
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 ...
, Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
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 Fest ...
.
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
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
. As well as releasing the single, the band launched their website for the song with videos of the recording.
In August 2010, We Are Scientists and Ash notably co-headlined two show in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
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 Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Woodford had a population of 4,022 people.
The town is noted for the Woodford Folk Festival th ...
. 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 Wight 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, 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 m ...
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 :wiktionary:smart#English, smart (in the sense of "well dressed") components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear, ...
'' 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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
's "Take My Breath Away
"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film ''Top Guns soundtrack, performed by American new wave band Berlin and included on their album '' Count Three & Pray''. The song won the Academy ...
" - 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
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
''. 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''. 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 three-day eve ...
, 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 ...
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 Festi ...
2014 in the United Kingdom.
In support of their co-headline tour with Surfer Blood
Surfer Blood are 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 currently consists of four members: J ...
, 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 a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
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
TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...
'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 talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
''. 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
MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser.
Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...
'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
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...
.
For Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
on April 13, 2019, We Are Scientists teamed up with Art Brut
Art Brut is an English indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition ...
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 is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
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
Campaign Against Living Miserably, or CALM, is a registered charity based in England.
CALM runs a free, confidential and anonymous helpline as well as a web chat service, offering help, advice and information to anyone who is struggling or in c ...
.
In July 2021 the band announced their seventh studio album ''Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is the largest U.S. market-share supplier of bicycles with its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when George Huffman, George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Se ...
'' 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 began in 2005 as a house party organized by Ralph Broadbent. In its first year, it was named The Big Gin Festival (a play on its location near Bi ...
and Victorious Festival.
2022–present: ''Lobes'', reissues and ''Qualifying Miles''
During writing and recording ''Huffy'', We Are Scientists had also begun work on what would become their next album. On September 21, 2022, the band released "Operator Error", the first single from their new album. Days later the band announced their eighth studio album would be titled '' Lobes'' and 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. During the build-up to the release of ''Lobes'', two further singles were released, "Just Lucky to be Here" and "Settled Accounts" were released on December 2, 2022 and January 6, 2023 respectively. The band announced their first North American headline tour since the release of '' Lobes,'' which would start in November 2023. Over the summer of 2023, We Are Scientists performed a number of dates across the UK and Europe, including UK festivals Standon Calling, Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. Truck Festival started in 1998, founded by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush). The Bennett family decided that mainstr ...
and Kendal Calling
Kendal Calling is a music and arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 40,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kend ...
.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band's fourth album, ''TV en Français'', a deluxe version of the album was released in June 2024. In May 2024, We Are Scientists announced that they would be embarking on a UK tour in November, where they would perform their second album ''Brain Thrust Mastery'' in full. The tour coincided with the deluxe LP reissue of the album. In April 2025, the band announced their ninth album ''Qualifying Miles'' for release that July.
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. The band's debut album ''With Love and Squalor
''With Love and Squalor'' is the major label debut album from rock band We Are Scientists. It was released in the United Kingdom in October 2005 on Virgin Records and charted at 43, with a large cult following which enabled it to after nea ...
'' was heavily influenced by fellow New York bands Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...
, Liars, the Strokes
The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
, Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
, the Rapture, and Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Record ...
. Murray has stated that Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
, David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
, and the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
are the band's "fundamental influences."
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.
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 publis ...
, 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 Daniel Shebar Schaffer (; born December 1, 1977) is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Tacc ...
of The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'').
The th ...
.
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, guitars, keyboards (1999–present), drums (1999)
*Chris Cain – bass guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
Current touring members
*Keith Carne – drums, percussion (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 is best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He has also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 ...
– drums, percussion, 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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bar:Carne from:05/01/2013 till:end color:bvocals width:3
Discography
Studio albums
*''With Love and Squalor
''With Love and Squalor'' is the major label debut album from rock band We Are Scientists. It was released in the United Kingdom in October 2005 on Virgin Records and charted at 43, with a large cult following which enabled it to after nea ...
'' (2005)
*'' Brain Thrust Mastery'' (2008)
*'' Barbara'' (2010)
*''TV en Français
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
'' (2014)
*'' Helter Seltzer'' (2016)
*'' Megaplex'' (2018)
*''Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is the largest U.S. market-share supplier of bicycles with its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when George Huffman, George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Se ...
'' (2021)
*'' Lobes'' (2023)
*''Qualifying Miles'' (2025)
References
External links
*
What's the Word
{{DEFAULTSORT:We Are Scientists
American dance-punk musical groups
Rock music groups from California
Indie rock musical groups from California
American post-punk revival music groups
Virgin Records artists
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
1999 establishments in California