For us, We Are Scientists has produced some of the best singles of the last fifteen years or so and the good news is that the band is about to hurl out yet more musical magic with its latest album, Helter Seltzer. Combining the release with a massive ten date UK tour, it’s going to be a big push from band mates Kieth Murray, Chris Cane and Kieth Karne as they try to put the impact of label woes behind them and put things back on track to focus on more great music.
Release date
The new material has been confirmed for a release date of the 22nd April 2016 and it’ll be available on CD, vinyl LP and digital download. There are also a number of limited edition CD and LP options available to pre-order from the We Are Scientists store, which includes signed art and a very unconventional vinyl colour of teal, matching the album cover you can see above.
Singles
Buckle is the opening single from the album, delivering a classic alt rock sound with a slightly darker heart than we’ve heard from We Are Scientists in the past. It’s not as instantly loveable as greats like It’s A Hit, Rules Don’t Stop, The Great Escape or After Hours, but it does burrow in within a single listen with Shins-like downbeat delivery. The bass lines are well tuned and lead in to some impressive guitar solos and wheedling chorus riffs.
You can listen to the single below with the music video for the opening song from the album. It’s a crazy food frenzy of a flick directed by Jedidiah Mitchell with original band members Keith Murray and Chris Cain trading blows with everything from cheese string to egg pelts before going on to hand shake it out.
Helter Seltzer track list:
1. Buckle
2. In My Head
3. Too Late
4. Hold On
5. We Need A Word
6. Want For Nothing
7. Classic Love
8. Waiting For You
9. Headlights
10. Forgiveness
2016 UK tour dates:
24th April – Bristol, UK – Bierkeller
25th April – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
26th April – Newcastle, UK – Riverside
27th April – Birmingham, UK – Library
29th April – Leicester, UK – Handmade Festival
30th April – Leeds, UK – Live at Leeds Festival
1st May – Glasgow, UK – Stag & Dagger Fest
3rd May – Manchester, UK – Academy 2
4th May – London, UK – Koko
5th May – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
First impressions
Barbara saw the band part ways with its former record label PIAS Recordings, following the earlier split with EMI/Virgin just after Brain Thrust Mastery, so it’s had its fair share of set backs. It would be impossible for any band to have so much instability in management and distribution and for it not to effect the success of its music, and it’s easy to see that it definitely had an impact on the momentum behind it. However, hopefully, Helter Seltzer will continue to give Murray and co. a steady ship to spin round in.
From initial listens to the lead single on the album, we’d have to say that there’s enough promise for a little new hope, so we’re looking forward to getting to listen to the record in its entirety. It’s perhaps the darkest sound we’ve heard from We Are Scientists, linking in with the band’s more troubled label past, but there should also be at least a little of the old shinier shimmer too. The Buckle music video below is a pretty good indicator that it’s not all hyper serious for the band these days.
