We Are Scientists Brain Thrust Mastery by: Liam Tracey Thu:24-Apr-08 Label: Virgin Year: 2008 WB rating 30 out of 100

Rock ‘n’ roll nerds We Are Scientists are back and this time around they’ve lost a drummer, ditched the filthy mo and created something that’s seemingly more mainstream friendly with Brain Trust Mastery. Long gone are the geeky lyrics of early EP Bitching! and first album Safety, Fun, And Learning that made the trio so loveable in the first place, and in comes imagery of hang overs and flirtatious women that somehow doesn’t quite match the baby face of the band. More importantly, WAS have lost the punchy, punk edge that made their breakthrough second album With Love and Squalor so great.

The frenzy of sounds that made the band such a hit on the dance floor aren’t prevalent at all on Brain Trust Mastery, and the album does little in the way of risk taking. The hysterics of ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’ and ‘The Great Escape’ from the band’s second LP are nowhere to be seen, with ‘Dinosaurs’ and ‘Chick Lit’ only barely worthy of the band’s reputation. ‘Spoken For’ is a track evoking dreariness, and begs the question of why singer Keith Murray thinks soft ballads are welcome at all when it’s fist pumping pop rock that drew people to them in the first place. And when innovation does occur, as in the completely unexpected horns in the closing track ‘That’s What Counts’, it seems completely out of place.

To his credit, Murray has experimented further as far as his vocals are concerned. There are electronic vocal effects thrown in here and there on ‘Chick Lit’, falsetto on ‘After Hours’, and warbling vocal jumps in ‘Dinosaurs’ that stand out as new inclusions. But despite Murray’s efforts, these modifications have little effect when the instrumentation behind them sounds so dull and done-before.

The cooler vocal stylings are let down further by the repetitive lyrics that are smeared everywhere on this record. Whilst the dance-friendly nature of With Love and Squalor excused lyrical lightness, the less manic instrumentation of Brain Trust Mastery means that repeating the same line over-and-over on top of basic guitar and drums is just tedious. ‘Let’s See It’ has the listener begging for an answer as Murray repeats, “How many times can this be repeated?” There is also no reason whatsoever for ‘Lethal Enforcer’ to exceed two and half minutes, yet Murray still manages to ramble out the same line for to have the track go for nearly five. “It’s time that you stop being so impatient,” Murray exclaims on ‘Impatient’ but frankly, by this stage – only five tracks in – many are likely to just give up.

It’s a shame that With Love and Squalor is the peak for WAS thus far. Regardless what the pair were trying here, Brain Trust Mastery is a big step backwards for the Brooklyn boys and is likely to confuse fans into asking where all the fun went. Perhaps ex-drummer Michael Tapper took it all with him.