Brain Thrust Mastery

Narrow Stairs Narrow Stairs might be the first album recorded by Death Cab for Cutie since Ben Gibbard's former solo project went unexpectedly stratospheric, but Gibbard hasn't let it go to his head. Oh, OK, maybe a little: lead-off single "I Will Possess Your Heart" is an eight minute jam tha...	With Love and Squalor With their daft facial hair and questionable fashion sense, tank-top sporting Brooklyn supernerds We Are Scientists resemble those eccentric mathematics lecturers one use to see on Open University in the early 1970s. Do not be deceived by this veil of foolishness, for With Love a...	Viva La Vida To say there has been a lot of anticipation for Coldplay's fourth album, Viva La Vida, is an understatement. Having enlisted legendary leftfield producer Brian Eno, borrowed their album title from a painting by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and made tantalising remarks abou...	Vampire Weekend It would take a lot for Vampire Weekend's debut to rise above the stench of privileged hype that surrounds it. A bunch of kids who formed the band in their Columbia dorm room borrow wholesale from Afrobeat and angular '80s stuff, and they quickly become an online buzz band before...	Consolers Of The Lonely Consolers Of The Lonely follows TheRaconteurs 2006 debut album BrokenBoy Soldiers, which went Top 10, wasGrammy® nominated for Best RockAlbum, and spun off a #1 Modern Rock hit. Led by singer-songwriter-guitarists Jack White of The White Stripes and Brendan Benson, The Raconteur...
Oracular Spectacular The term Oracular Spectacular might not mean much, if anything, at all--it's essentially nonsensical--but that doesn't stop it feeling exactlyright. Here is a band that treats dizzy cross-eyed awe and a vast bounding sense of sonic weightlessness as their yardstick, jostling to s...	Only by the Night Despite a wave of criticism asserting that Kings of Leon's fourth full-length is "too commercial," Only by the Night may be the closest thing to a pitch-perfect album to drop in 2008. Granted, Tennessee's band of brothers (and one first cousin) takes a turn for the heavily polish...	Age of the Understatement Famous for demonstrating how less is more when it comes to publicity, it comes as no surprise that The Age of the Understatement, the first side project from Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, should appear to no great fanfare. The Last Shadow Puppets are Turner and Miles Kane, f...	Modern Guilt In the last few years, Beck has freely sailed the seas of electronic and alternative music, but he is now back on land with Modern Guilt, an album that gravitates mostly toward electronic music and that, unfortunately, only has a couple of songs that really stand out ("Modern Gui...	Flight of the Conchords Anyone familiar with cultish comedy series Flight of the Conchords will be aware of the wonderful songs that the hapless New Zealand duo Bret and Jemaine concoct for each episode. Tackling all genres, from hip hop and soul to glam rock, the duo create highly original and well-pro...

Worse, but not bad
Their first album will always be dear to me, and I don't think their is a single misstep on it. I would almost say that about this one, except I could do without the slow song and a few chord combinations fall a little flat. That having been said, this one clearly does not rock out with the hooks quite as hard as the previous album. I like this album and can enjoy it just fine, with a few songs that do really rock hard, but overall it is simply not as dynamic. I do not however think their new style is all that different; maybe they added a few embellishments of keyboard or other new instruments, but overal this is the same ole band, just having a classic sophomore slump before they come back strong again.

Different... but different is good in this case.
This new record isn't the We Are Scientists we were used to. The band has really grown and developed their sound. There are not many bratty pop songs compared to past releases, but rather many brooding, moody tracks... Much more complex as well. At first the new sound was jarring, but over time it's really grown on me, and that's usually a sure sign that an album has legs. The melodic hooks are still there, the punchy drums remain, they're just steeped in a lot of additional sounds and riffs. Some tracks like 'Let's See It' still start with a strong catchy guitar run, but the vocals are more sing-songy. There is more of a synthpop influence in the music as well. Something along the lines of a happier New Order with a bit of The Smiths in the melody. Tracks like 'Lethal Enforcer' are straight up new wave. 'Brain Thrust Mastery' is an excellent deviation from the mainstream, and a sign of even greater things to come.

A Step Up From 'With Love And Squalor'
We Are Scientists has done it again, with their sophomore album, 'Brain Thrust Mastery'. Those hoping for 'With Love and Squalor 2' will be let down, because is a very different sound. Which is a good thing. Although the drummer did leave, this is still a great rock album. HIGHLIGHTS Let's See It Leather Enforcer (My Personal Favorite) Impatience Altered Beast

Brain Thrust Mastery: Witty Good Time
Brooklyn based band We Are Scientists (Keith Murray and Chris Cain) follow up their winning debut with this second album of 80's New Wave inspired music. Guitar rock and synthpop are pretty evenly distributed throughout the 11 tracks included here, with Sparks being the band that mostly comes to mind as being a possible major influence, as they share that band's penchant for the satirical and the goofy, as well as their love of a good hook. Not all the material hits the mark, but in general Brain Thrust Mastery is a witty good time from a band that thankfully doesn't take much seriously, except maybe showing their listeners a bit of fun. Standout cuts: "After Hours," "Lethal Enforcer," "Impatience" and "Chick Lit."