By Dennis O’Neil
“We Are Scientists'” debut album “With Love and Squalor” radiates the energy of a mid-level band doing their best to become the next big thing. They may not succeed, but it is enjoyable to watch them try.
Most of the album has a dance-rock feel with a swagger reminiscent of the “Killers.” While many of the songs may sound similar, their result is undeniably catchy, and their lyrics convey a youthful hedonism that says “we’re just here to have a good time, so deal with it.”
“We Are Scientists'” does, for the most part, succeed in their objective, producing an album that is both frivolous in its content and absorbing in its overall tone.
They do, however, also demonstrate the potential for something of more substance with songs like the contemplative “Textbook,” containing lyrics full of sadness such as: “20 years of bad decisions haven’t taught me much at all.”
Many of the albums songs, while catchy, register more like an effort to write the next “Take Me Out” or “Somebody Told Me.” While “With Love and “Squalor” is a fine start, “We Are Scientists'” next effort should really concentrate on creating something of more substance, and not just trying to produce the next Top 40 smash.
–Dennis O’Neil
