We Are Scientists have just released their seventh studio LP, Huffy, via Masterswan Records. Their first effort in three years shows the NYC based band continuing to hone their distinct brand of catchy, guitar driven indie rock. Soaked with anthemic hooks and dance floor guitar grooves, the album is an extraordinary consistent addition to the band’s catalog that will instantly win over the hearts of their long held fanbase.
Listening through the album is meant to evoke feelings of pure fun. Much needed in our lives these days, an approach to an album like this is a welcomed change of pace. While some of the songs detail crazy scenarios (and gory endings), the delivery and presentation is all about joy and individuality. Fans who ordered physical copies of the album receive a bare cover complete with sheets of stickers featuring We Are Scientists and Huffy, plus an assortment of characters and shapes to arrange on the cover however they please. Not to mention, the vinyl edition comes in your choice of 10 colors including “earth scoop,” “seafoam spritz,” or “dog tongue.”
The fourth (and last) single previewed from the record is lead track “You’ve Lost Your Shit.” Accompanying the song is a music video showing lead singer Keith Murray waking up in a bathtub after having some organs stolen from his body. The song opens with a driving punk guitar riff surrounded by Keith’s soaring hooks and punchy vocal style. Much of the album continues in the same fashion, including personal highlight “Fault Lines,” which consists of an infectious guitar track and easily the catchiest hook on the record. “Bought Myself a Grave” features a somewhat country vibe both in guitar style and storytelling. The records closes with another indie sing along “Behavior Unbecoming,” solidifying the record’s prominent place in the catalog.
We Are Scientists ended a tour back in December of 2019, right before the world would abruptly change due to the pandemic. It turns out, that the songs for Huffy were already largely written and the guys would use the time in quarantine to focus on all the other aspects of producing a final product.
All of the songs for our new album, Huffy, had been written and production for the record had begun just before COVID brought the world to a quarantined standstill. Fortunately for us, that little head start meant that the record largely avoided manifesting any of the sense of gloom or claustrophobia that might have infused the music, had it been fully written and recorded under lockdown. If anything, the fact that there was nothing else we could possibly be doing beside watching full seasons of old TV shows meant that we were able to pour even more attention into the making of the record. It became a refuge, for the first few months of lockdown — escaping to our little studio sanctuary became a relief, rather than a chore. We tend to hate the tedium of the recording process — messing with microphone placement, testing out every possible snare drum tuning, etc. — but that kind of thing became somewhat more appealing in quarantine. I think it made us a little more playful in our production approach, and the result, to me, is perhaps our liveliest, most exuberant record, to date.
We Are Scientists
Once concerts started to make a comeback in New York City, We Are Scientists announced a warmup show on Elsewhere’s rooftop. Unfortunately, the show never took place as a severe thunderstorm right as doors were opening forced the show to be postponed to September. However, fans that night were treated to an excellent surprise; never allowed on the roof to begin with, the people who showed up early were told to shuffle into the empty main hall and await an appearance from the guys. A bartender came in to open the bar, and shortly after We Are Scientists came out onto an empty stage armed with an acoustic guitar, a snare drum, and three voices.
Neither the audience, or We Are Scientists for that matter, knew what to expect from this moment, but the guys performed acoustic versions (with a chorus of backup vocalists from the half-filled room) of several of their hits as well as a couple tracks of the yet to be released Huffy. For a last-minute, impromptu performance, the fans who were there that night witnessed a truly memorable show from one of their favorite artists. The rooftop concert would eventually be made up in September, with a full blown performance, but the 20 minute show inside the empty Elsewhere Hall will stick in those fan’s minds for a long time.
We Are Scientists is about to kick off a lengthy European tour, beginning this Saturday in the UK. The first leg runs through early December with a second leg throughout April 2022. Check out all the tour dates HERE, along with links to order the highly customizable record as well as a slew of colorful merch. More photos from the impromptu acoustic show in the gallery below.
Key Tracks: “Fault Lines,” “Contact High,” “You’ve Lost Your Shit”
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