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We Are Scientists, the Brooklyn, New York based power pop troupe are set to return this coming April 22nd with their fifth album. Titled ‘Helter Seltzer’ and released via 100% Records (on CD, digital and limited edition teal coloured vinyl), it is preceded by the bombastic opening track ‘Buckle’ and this hook-ridden new single “Too Late”, available to both stream and download now.
Accompanying the new single is a video featuring a heavy helping of the amusing, bizarre and thought provoking – though not necessarily in equal amounts…“Too Late has a really positive musical vibe, so we thought a positive message made sense for the video,” says Chris. “We didn’t want it to be preachy, though. The way we solved the problem was to evoke a real issue — the health of bee populations, and related environmental concerns — but then not only to bungle our explanation of that issue, but also to spread disinformation about what you can do to make a difference.”
Keith goes on to elaborate on the track itself, “Although the lyrics are couched in the language of a love song, it’s as much about my friendship with Chris as anything else. We’ve known each other for almost 20 years now, and despite the well-proven adage that being in a band is an excellent way to destroy a friendship, he’s still the person I most want to hang out with. It’s pretty weird to spend three months on a tour bus with someone and then, upon returning home, be able to wait only about 48 hours before calling to see if they want to go to a movie, or something.”
‘Helter Seltzer’
For ‘Helter Seltzer’ We Are Scientists asked their ex-keyboard player Max Hart to produce. Max had just finished a three-year stint as the keyboardist for international super-mega-person Katy Perry, choosing as his final gig Ms. Perry’s performance at the 2015 Super Bowl. Max rented a studio space in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighbourhood, outfitting it with gear he had accumulated over a decade of obsessive internet shopping. In early March, the team got to work and a direction quickly emerged – they would use the tones and trickery of radio pop and Max’s inside-out familiarity with hits like ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Firework’ and ‘Dark Horse’ to add a sweet sheen to the new crop of distinctively We Are Scientists songs. The recordings were shipped to mixer Chris Coady at Sunset Sound in L.A. who has quietly emerged in recent years as one of the finest mixers of glossy indie pop, with credits that include Future Islands, Beach House, and !!!. Finally, the music was passed through the deluxe mastering machine that are the ears of Greg Calbi (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Noel Gallagher, Perfume Genius) to add a coat of heft and sparkle, and in January of 2016, nearly a year after construction began, the album was pronounced complete.
“We’ve always made overtures toward being a pop band, but we’ve generally had the inclination to obscure those pop leanings in grit and chaos — to screw them up with fuzzed-out tones and raucous performances,” says guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray. “It’s made us really think about what our musical genre is. We’re not punk — we’re too interested in making our songs as pretty as possible. We’re not straight-up rock — our tastes are too left-of-centre. We’re not indie-rock — our heads aren’t far enough up our own butts. So finally, after putting as much time into thinking about it as we’re apt to — about ten minutes, over beers — we decided that our genre is ‘Helter Seltzer.'”
“Declaring a new genre is obviously douchey as hell, though, and impossible to deliver with a straight face,” adds bassist Chris Cain, “so we did the noble thing and just made ‘Helter Seltzer’ the album title. It’s especially apt for us these days, though. The songs here are more effervescent than we’ve ever managed to deliver, but they’ve still maintained a measure of that ‘Helter Skelter’ element — no matter how fizzy and refreshing the tunes are, they’ve always got a bit of that seamy, scuzzy, ‘cult on Spahn Ranch’ vibe. “We therefore consider this album, as a vessel of both sweet pop tunes and seltzer outreach,” concludes Chris. “To be a work of undisguised philanthropy on our part.”
Catch the band live at the following dates:
Friday 22nd April – London – Rough Trade East *Instore*
Sunday 24th April – Bristol – Rise *Instore*
Sunday 24th April – Bristol – Bierkeller
Monday 25th April – Nottingham – Rough Trade *Instore*
Monday 25th April – Nottingham – Rescue Rooms
Tuesday 26th April – Newcastle – Riverside
Wednesday 27th April – Birmingham – Library (Institute)
Friday 29th April – Leicester – Handmade – Festival
Saturday 30th April – Leeds – Live At Leeds – Festival
Sunday 1st May – Glasgow – Live In Glasgow – Festival
Tuesday 3rd May – Manchester – Academy 2
Wednesday 4th May – London – KOKO
Thursday 5th May – Brighton – Concorde 2