We Are Scientists Barbara

• "Rules Don’t Stop"
• "I Don’t Bite"
• "Nice Guys"
• "Jack & Ginger"
• "Pittsburgh"
• "Ambition"
• "Break It Up"
• "Foreign Kicks"
• "You Should Learn"
• "Central AC"

A new drummer, a new label, and a divisive second album find New York trio We Are Scientists revisiting familiar sounds on Barbara. After an excursion into synth-soaked mopery on 2008's Brain Thrust Mastery, Keith Murray and Chris Cain are joined by ex-Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, who brings back the powerful percussion of their debut. Promises of a "return to form" usually indicate retreads, but first two singles "Rules Don't Stop" and "Nice Guys" are both propulsive slabs of expertly crafted pop-rock that nearly lift from the ground with exuberance. The album is also the band's first to be released by the British label PIAS Recordings, following We Are Scientists' departure from Virgin/EMI.

Abstract by Erik Ziedses des Plantes