No one can call Brooklyn-based rockers We Are Scientists one-dimensional. The band has engaged in extracurricular activities ranging from creating a comedic TV series to self-improvement seminars. However, singer/guitarist Keith Murray and bassist Chris Cain have returned to their day job to release fourth album Barbara (PIAS/Masterswan). WAS, who were without a drummer since the 2007 departure of Michael Tapper, have added former Razorlight skinsman Andy Burrows to the lineup, and Barbara features a more eclectic sound, with the often-brash group experimenting with slower tempos and fuller arrangements. Lead single “Rules Don’t Stop” is vintage Scientists, though; it’s a nervy power-pop song driven by a thumping bass line. The single debuted at number 14 on the U.K. indie charts, and it’s already an anthem for mustachioed hipsters everywhere. Murray is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Murray: The brain child of maniac auteur Tommy Wiseau, this is simply the most, uh, compelling film I’ve ever seen. Everything about The Room is all wrong. The sets are shoddy. The script appears to have been written by that one language-bereft character from Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy. The actors themselves appear entirely incapable of personally constructing a coherent sentence. And yet, I could watch this film all day, every day. I’ve forced maybe 30 people to watch it on numerous occasions, and their reaction is always the same. First they declare their hatred of me. Often, they attempt to leave and must be physically restrained. As the film ploughs on, however, they realize that they’re under its spell, and that their lives will truly never be the same. This is the greatest piece of singular cinematic vision since Citizen Kane.
Video after the jump.
