Sound Experiments: We Are Scientists

DANCE-PUNKERS WE ARE SCIENTISTS hit the British scene big in 2006 with their second album, "With Love and Squalor," which earned them a touring slot with Arctic Monkeys.

Now, back home in the U.S., the band is getting attention for 2008's "Brain Thrust Mastery" plus several surreal videos directed by "SNL Digital Shorts" mastermind Akiva Schaffer. The group is opening for Kings of Leon at DAR Constitution Hall on Nov. 10.

Express talked to bassist Chris Cain.

» EXPRESS: In the spirit of the DAR, are you planning some sort of revolt against the Kings during the show?
» CAIN: Absolutely. I think it would be downright un-American to do otherwise. I'll keep the bloody details a surprise, but it should get pretty gol-darn hectic up in Kings of Leon's hairpiece — in a friendly way.

» EXPRESS: The cover art on "Brain Thrust" has you in a limo picking up some older women. Is that your new target demographic?
» CAIN: It would be pointless to have ourselves partying with a couple of twentysomething indie dudes or 16-year-old girls because obviously those demographics have been utterly hypnotized by We Are Scientists for a couple of years now. Basically the person we're looking for is the matriarch, because that has a trickle-down effect. That's our theory anyway.

» EXPRESS: The latest CD is a departure from dance-punk. For example, "Lethal Enforcer" has very '80s synth-pop vocals.
» CAIN: On this one we wanted to make a more straightforward pop record, without any overall genre identity. That kind of ['80s] stuff is definitely a reference point for this album, with "Lethal Enforcer" more than others. But a lot of sounds from that era made it on in other songs. You have the cheesy analog sound of "That's What Counts," which we were thinking was like Hall and Oates.

» EXPRESS: The songs on the CD are credited to the band. Is the songwriting really collaborative?
» CAIN: Keith [Murray] is the primary amazing songwriter. He's been playing guitar since he was 12. I didn't really pick up an instrument until this band formed in 2000. So he's definitely the man with the musical chops. What do I bring? Shut up, don't ask that.

» EXPRESS: Longtime member Michael Tapper left in 2007. Has he formed a "We Aren't Scientists" band and declared himself your archenemy?
» CAIN: Oh, man, that would be amazing and would sell albums for everybody. But as far as I know, he has not instigated any such plan. He would keep it a secret if he were an intelligent supervillain, so it's entirely possible.

» EXPRESS: Why are you a lot bigger in England than in the U.S.?
» CAIN: In every band's success there's an inevitable amount of luck. In England, we were just a little luckier initially. It's also worth noting our style is more mainstream in the UK, not "fringe" or "indie rock." Take a band like Kings of Leon; they're now quite big here but they play stadiums in the U.K.

» EXPRESS: You've got a rep from all those funny YouTube videos. Has it been hard to be taken seriously as musicians?
» CAIN: We get asked that question with some regularity, and we might just be trying to reassure ourselves when we say no. The thing is we don't make funny videos or say funny things between songs onstage as a marketing ploy. If we were trying to market ourselves and actually had the energy to go through with it we would've chosen a far more moody, dramatic persona for the band. That seems to work a little better [for other bands]. We basically make the videos that we think will be awesome to watch.

» EXPRESS: How did you land Akiva Schaffer?
» CAIN: The first two videos he did for us predated his time at SNL, so it probably was only possible because we got to know him when he was a total fucking loser with no prospects. After those first two I think he was doing it out of loyalty, and sure we get along well with him personally. He's obviously become quite busy but he's always our go-to guy. We share the same sense of humor, and he's always happy to take whatever we've come up with and make it funnier.

» EXPRESS: Was it fun to film the bottle fight for "After Hours"?
» CAIN: For Keith breaking a bottle over a man's head was a dream come true, absolutely. And for me transforming into a werewolf in the recent "Impatience" video, that was a dream fulfillment.

» EXPRESS: Are you recording a Christmas greeting this year, and will Keith get more Jack Daniels and hummus?
» CAIN: I think we will, and I think it will inevitably include some liquor company, otherwise it would be incredible dishonest since to us that's what Christmas means.

» EXPRESS: Do you goof around onstage a lot or do you save that for the videos?
» CAIN: We do have a tradition of talking quite a lot between songs, and if I say so myself our stage banter is a cut above. Not always funny, but never formulaic, and I take pride in that. We've been known to take 5-10 minute rants between songs, though we'd never do that on a support slot when we're short on time — that might piss off any actual fans in the audience.

» EXPRESS: If you put "99 Problems Robocover" on an album, would you have to pay royalties to both Jay-Z and Stephen Hawking?
» CAIN: Probably. It's just on our MySpace page. We haven't considered putting it on an album, which isn't to say we're not proud of it. There's some other dude MC Hawking who has the same joke, except the music actually sounds legit as compared to ours, which has a terrible Garage Band drumbeat. So it's not an original joke, it turns out. Kind of like Leibnitz, who invented calculus on his own but 30 years after Newton.

» DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D St., NW; Mon., Nov. 10, 7 p.m., with Kings of Leon and The Whigs, $37.50; 202-397-7328. (Farragut West)

Written by Express contributor by Paul Stelter

Posted By Express at 8:07 AM on November 10, 2008 Tagged in Arts & Events , Farragut West , Music , The District

| Print