Single Review: We Are Scientists – One In, One Out
The last time we heard from American pop rockers We Are Scientists, in 2016, they had released their sixth album ‘Helter Seltzer’. You can read our review of that long player through here. It’s 2 years later, and Keith Murray and Chris Cain are hinting about their next record. As usual, the jokesters want to tease us a little with the first single from the upcoming release. An unexpected high-tech sound and an accompanying video is our first glimpse into ‘Megaplex’. The forthcoming album was produced by Max Hart, their partner in crime for 2008’s most excellent ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’, as well as ‘Helter Seltzer’.
Lyrically, ‘One In, One Out’ seems like a run-of-the-mill pop song, treading the all too common ground of angst of falling in love and feeling unsatisfied. Instead of pairing it with a trite melody, We Are Scientists have gone all futuristic, with icy robotic beats and Murray’s voice feeling faintly autotuned. An anthemic, feel good chorus pulls everything together. Instrumentally, the song bops along with a heavy synth line reminiscent of the New Wave-y ‘80s. Cain acknowledges in the press release that the direction of the new material is less philosophical and more hedonistic. “In the past we’ve used our music to educate, to enlighten, to awaken people to the depth and complexity of moral concerns. This time, we really wanted to drop a fun-bomb. Something to dance or f*** to.” Okay, then!
The video for the song looks like something out of the same era: pulsating dots bounce together for each of the band members’ silhouettes, while the band themselves are projected on a black-lit, magenta computerised checkerboard. I’m not going to spoil it for you but where the video ultimately goes is, in typical WAS style, unpredictable and hilarious. One clue: cheese and crackers are great, aren’t you? ‘One In, One Out’ is an intriguing preview of a much-awaited return from a pair of experienced singer/songwriters whose pop gems have rarely disappointed us.
8/10
‘One In, One Out’, We Are Scientists’ newest single, is out now. ‘Megaplex’, the American duo’s sixth studio album, will be out on the 27th of April on 100% Records. To read more on We Are Scientists here on TGTF, go here.
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