What I loved most about We Are Scientist’s first album, With Love and Squalor, was it’s exuberant, childlike energy, humourous lyrics and general brashness. However, it’s the trend nowadays that the sophomore effort has to be darker, and more “grown-up”. And, for better or for worse, that’s what WAS have done one their new album, Brain Thrust Mastery.
We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery
Virgin Records
The record opens with the stadium rock-ish “Ghouls”, which isn’t so much a proper song as it is an intro to the album (much like the titular track to the Killer’s Sam’s Town album). This sets the scene for “Let’s See It”, which is a somewhat-generic-indie, yet still pretty enjoyable little song (though slightly too long).
Things pick up with single “After Hours”, which is still pretty awesome, despite the album mix being a little less “beefier” than the radio mix. It’s the fourth track, “Lethal Enforcer”, that really surprises – it We Are Scientists gone eighties, complete with Tears For Fears-esque twangy guitars and that pounding electronic drum sound. “Impatience”, the song that follows, while enjoyable, is sonically reminiscent of the verses of Primal Scream’s “Country Girl” – and then never advances from their, so the music gets a bit boring and drony.
The next couple of tracks, “Tonight” and requisite ballad “Spoken For” aren’t anything to write home about; then “Altered Beast” gets slightly heavier, yet with poppier, harmonised vocals, which is pretty fun. Though unfortunatley it doesn’t sample any of the dialogue from the MegaDrive game the song gets it’s name from.
Neither “Chick Lit” nor “Dinosuars” live up to their awesome names, and also suffer from being too long; but album closer “That’s What Counts” picks things up – it sounds like…well, the end of an album. And there’s some brass in their too! Luckily it doesn’t get too jazzy/loungey, though it is on that dangerous border.
Overall, Brain Thrust Mastery is a victim of that dreaded second album syndrome; trying to be more adult and grown up, but failing and just sounding slightly bloated and boring.
Download “Impatience”
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Tags: after hours, album, album review, brain thrust mastery, chris cain, download, impatience, keith murray, lethal enforcer, MP3, Music, review, we are scientists
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