By Dawnika Lopez |Staff Writer|
Everything was fine until they opened their mouths, then everything went horrible.
We Are Scientists released a new EP Business Casual on the Oct. 15, three years after their last album; sort of kept their indie rock and pop sound but added a whole new shift in dynamics within their music.
We Are Scientists comprise of Keith Murray on guitar and lead vocals, along with Chris Cain on bass guitar and backing vocals. Their music generates electric rock instrumentation with an inspiration of 80s rock synth, with vocal harmonies and rhythmic syncopation.
The dynamic duo, Murray and Cain has been busy this last year creating four new tracks and including a cover of Berlin’s classic “Take My Breath Away.”
The band previous music captivated fans, but their new EP Business Casual featured a different style, according to Consequence of Sound magazine (CoS) the tracks “illuminate the full range of We Are Scientists.”
“Return the Favor,” had a melodic phrasing, mixed minor and major key tonality. The guitar solo was well done; it had a harmonic structure with an 80s rhythm.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to understand the lyrics or perceived what the singer was saying.
Turning up the volume is required to comprehend what the singer is uttering about.
“Courage” stood out as the only well-done track on the EP. I’m talking about the tune, not the lyrics.
The song had a mellow rock instrumentation, subtle use of vocal harmony, soft rhythmic syncopation, and acoustic rhythm.
The lyrics aren’t well composed nor are they lyrical:
“I measure my words when I’m speaking, tell you everything’s fine. I been waiting but you’re never around. Where is your courage? Considering how I been beatin.”
We Are Scientists took on “Take My Breath Away,” with an indie rock ambiance and dark style.
There isn’t much to say about their cover, but according to Lisa Wright of NME it was “inexplicable and unnecessary.”
We Are Scientists should have added a track to prove what it takes to create music that was versatile and produce a worthy album, not undertaking a cover song.
According to Ben Kaye of CoS, We Are Scientists depicted a darker tone than much of their music, yet it never loses sight of the well-formulated pop sound they have always worked with.
We Are Scientists’ EP, Business Casual, was not a complete miss.
Each track had their strong points, especially the rhythm and instrumental synths. But the writing and vocals were questionable, being overall just difficult to comprehend and didn’t have lyrical sense.
The best moments of the five track EP was the touching harmonies and well rhythmic electric rock inspiration, but there is still hope for We Are Scientists, if they can return to the unassuming charm and lyrical tones.
Personally, I don’t recommend purchasing the album due to their lyrics, but Business Casual is available online for free. I do recommend you listen to the album for you to decide if it’s worthy.
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