We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
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www.slantmagazine.com Rating: 0
rio-turned-duo We Are Scientists move in a slightly glossier direction for their third full-length, Brain Thrust Mastery, adding a slick pop sheen to their post-punk sound. There are few tracks here that approach the hard-edged pop splendor of It's a Hit, Textbook, or their minor hit Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt, though Lethal Enforcer is notable for being as blatantly '80s new wave as the band has ever come, and for sporting a self-referential lyric that serves as the impetus for the entire album: Love's a classic 'cause it always works. Aside from the lead single After Hours, which attempts—and fails—to turn staying out all night and drinking into something deeper than just staying out all night and drinking, Brain Thrust Mastery eschews the scenester party-and-sex themes of the band's sorta-breakthrough With Love and Squalor for more grown-up subject matter. Opening track, Ghouls, sets the album's tone with the put-on self-deprecation of its repeated refrain, We all recognize that I'm the problem here. Ironically, head scientist Keith Murray dismisses hard evidence and natural inclinations by asking the object of his haphazard affection to have a little blind faith...
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