 "Photo: Dylan Schäfer | Daily Trojan")
We Are Scientists is weird; it's undeniable.
Singer-songwriter Ben Lee, dressed in full sailor attire Sunday at the Troubadour, presumably for Halloween, introduced it as the best band ever to come out of Brooklyn, composed of the tightest drummer, the quickest bassist and guitarist with all the hooks. Two of the members look like they could actually be geology teachers at your local high school.
The band writes rock songs with nerd attitude consistent with Weezer and the Decemberists, and its Web site hosts a variety of kitschy sections including an advice column á la Dear Abby. Advice ranges from sexual to practical to down right absurd:
"Name: Fflur
Query: I like you. Will one of you, or all of you be my boyfriends? If not, tell me if the boy I like a little likes me.
Answer: Yes to all queries. Now you're in a bit of a pinch, aren't you, Fflur?"
But it's this weirdness, this undying penchant for the awkward and non-sensical, which drives We Are Scientists to be one of the best things to come out of New York during the recent Gotham City explosion in the rock scene.
Though they moved to New York City in 2001, a few short months after forming, We Are Scientists didn't experience the quick rise to stardom of the Strokes, Interpol or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They were content to sit back and release EPs that garnered attention from some of the most popular music blogs on the Internet.
That buzz created on the Web increased to a roar after they played at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin this March and the College Music Journal music marathon this September in New York City.
Their set Sunday was filled with that same potential. Music that's classically alternative and poppy weaves in and out of heartfelt lyrics and the musings of lead singer Keith Murray.
These musings and many of the same sentiments can be found in the reviews section on the We Are Scientists Web site where bassist Chris Cain opines over random products and strange tourist attractions.
Standout tracks such as "Inaction," "Great Escape" and "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" combine rabid, frantic beats tamed by drummer Michael Tapper, disco-style, Who-inspired bass riffs laid down by Cain and aggressive hooks fingered eloquently by Murray. Over the top comes Murray's perfectly suited voice that's filled with all the inelegance and poetic style of an adolescent reading Shakespeare for the first time.
We Are Scientists touches the anxiety-ridden portion inside all of us - let's just hope signing with Virgin Records and the release of their debut album doesn't make them any less socially inept.
