We Are Scientists

The mainstream music market is dominated by manufactured wannabes seeking stardom in a second, but in recent years* We Are Scientists *have managed to break the assembly line with their own brand of independent pop.

The three-piece collated in a bar in New York back in 2000, and have produced the kind of infectious pop capable of generating an indie-loving fan base, one which promptly swelled upon the release of their debut album With Love and Squalor, an album that has been played in high street shops ever since. But without a doubt the best place to hear this band’s music is from a pit of word-perfect fans.

At this particular gig, the Scientists chose not to open with your standard album success but with their own apt version of_ ‘Against All Odds’ by Phil Collins. The audience love it. And as a nice way to bookend the gig they finish with ‘End Of The Road’_, a classic Boyz II Men hit to which, of course, We Are Scientists have the whole audience singing in harmony to. It stays stuck in many fan’s heads once the show is sadly over.

They belt out each and every track from their debut album with quirky energy. At one point, during a fast paced rendition of 'Cash Cow', singer Keith Murray jumps down from the stage to be grabbed by the lucky few on the barrier. However, most of the time he remains upstage with bassist Chris Cain. The two men play off each other both during songs and between them, which amuses the audience no end. Keith announces before the halfway mark that we shouldn’t be eating sugar for energy - we'll crash before the end, and it's “all about carbs right now”.

Drummer Michael Tapper steps forward from his kit to sing ‘End Of The Road’ with Keith and Chris after their show-stopping rendition of ‘The Great Escape’, a song followed by goodbyes and an empty stage. People crawl out of the pit thinking the show's over, but of course it's not: the guys take the stage again, joined by support act Au Revoir Simone. And in an array not dissimilar to what one would see at a karaoke bar, they genuinely sing their hearts out, bottles of beer in hand.

These are men who are truly at home on the stage, with a sense of humour and unbridled talent. These are men that will go further than they have already. These men are Scientists.

Photograph by Ryan Atkinson (website)