We Are Scientists

Formed in California but with a sound indebted to UK post-punk, We Are Scientists inject heavy doses of color and snark into their feverish, synth-lined attacks. After launching in 2000, college buddies Keith Murray (singer/guitarist), Chris Cain (bassist), and Michael Tapper (drummer) set off for NYC to jump into its thriving indie-rock scene. Where bands like Interpol and The Strokes had the swagger, We Are Scientists found the humor—a constant variable that’s kept them thriving. Another is their unbridled energy, which seems to intensify with every release, starting with the pumped-up New Wave groovers that dominate their 2005 debut album, With Love and Squalor, and into the restless dance-punk, fuzz-rock, and power-pop experimentations they’ve brewed up ever since. Throughout, Murray and Cain (plus Keith Carne, who took over percussion duties in 2013), have lived up to their band name, constantly testing and tweaking their original hook-laden formula without ever losing their razor-sharp edge.