popwreckoning

“Are you ready to rock?” asked a jovial Barry Hyde of the Futureheads Friday night. Cheering ensued. He flashed an evil grin. “You’re in the right place, because we are too!” The Sunderland, England punk rock quartet played a blazing set of favorites old and new to a crowd raring to go at the Black Cat in Washington. Their latest album The Chaos was released in America this past Tuesday on Dovecote Records.

The first of two support acts, the Static Jacks, seemed perfectly matched to the punk sensibility of the headlining Sunderland rockers. This five-member New Jersey band is a band primed for success that you’ve probably never even heard of by name before. According to Wikipedia, tunes by this self-described garage-soul band have graced “The Hills” and “The City” and have been featured on stateside satellite radio. Despite sporting a haircut reminiscent of Lyle Lovett, singer Ian Devaney has the swagger and aura of coolness of Joey Ramone and the magnetism of the Horrors‘ Faris Badwan. I was standing in front of bassist Spencer Kimmins and guitarist Henry Kaye and nearly got hit in the head by wayward guitar necks; this didn’t put me off at the slightest, because this is what you should expect during a high energy punk set. You don’t expect the bass player to hit a suitcase with a stick like it was a drum either, but you go with it if the music is good. Despite their young age (all of them under 21, according to the Xs on their hands), they have a polished but aggressive sound. If they keep this up, expect big things from this band soon.

The Like, an all-girl group from Los Angeles, have previously toured with some heavy hitters – Muse, the Arctic Monkeys, and Razorlight, just to name a few. Given their sometimes punk, sometimes sunny pop sound, the comparison to the Go-Go’s is inevitable. There are also whiffs of the Beatles (check out the video for “He’s Not a Boy” below, which reminds me of the nightclub dance scenes in “A Hard Day’s Night”) and the Beach Boys with their harmonies. Oddly, their set sandwiched in between the Static Jacks and the Futureheads almost felt like a rest period because they couldn’t match the liveliness of the other two acts. I would have preferred if they stuck to punk (and showcase their technical chops) than with retro pop. Their next album produced by Mark Ronson, Release Me, will be released on June 15 on Downtown Records.

He’s Not A Boy from The Like on Vimeo.

Sunderland, nestled in the far reaches of Northeast England, has been criminally neglected by music pundits in the past, but mark my words, it won’t be for much longer. One of these days someday soon, America will come to its collective senses and realize the wealth of music there, from the likes of Field Music, Frankie and the Heartstrings, and Friday’s headliners the Futureheads. I should have known I was in for an amazing nights simply from a message lead singer/guitarist Barry Hyde sent me hours before the show, “we’re going to rock your socks off!”

The moment Hyde and his band stepped on the Black Cat stage, you could sense the electricity in the air. The driving count-in of “5-4-3-2-1!” of “The Chaos” was a superb way to begin a set that never let up in sheer intensity and fun. “Heartbeat Song” was prefaced by Hyde with, “imagine it’s the ’80s. You’re in a John Hughes film, and you’ve just fallen in love.” Wow. It’s the obvious earworm single of The Chaos, and was simply breathtaking live as a pop-punk masterpiece. I previously linked to the excellent promo video for the song on a tour announcement 2 months ago, but check out this “making of” video that shows you just how fun these guys are.

Their roadie had painstakingly taped down all the guitar cords onstage, and this was because guitarist Ross Millard, bassist Jaff Craig, and most often Hyde himself could be found roaming the stage while frenetically going at their instruments with gusto. By the second song in, all of them were covered in sweat. Having never seen this band before live, I was not expecting the very funny stage patter from Hyde and the interaction between him, Millard, and Craig. It made an already stellar gig even better, and I’d argue they rank up there with We Are Scientists for pure during-gig hilarity. Early on in the show, Hyde chided a drunk couple who had been chatting throughout the set, one of whom had thrown a empty glass at his feet. “You do know this is a gig, right?” The crowd cheered in response.

During their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Hounds of Love,” Hyde involved the audience in a shouting contest, as Millard was unable to do his harmonies due to a sore throat, Hyde admitting he was scared to sing part of a song that he’d never done live before. Aww. (If you were wondering, my side singing along with Craig won the contest due to our enthusiasm in participating.) For the encore, Hyde indulged a devoted fan as the band played “Man Ray” from their 2004 self-titled debut album, saying to her, “after every single song we’ve played you shouted for this.” Just goes to show that persistence, in the presence of a obliging band, pays off. After such an energetic set, it was obvious that these chaps from Sunderland could have played on for hours and hours and the crowd would have eaten it all up. I can’t wait to see these guys again soon.

The Futureheads Set List
The Chaos
Meantime
Heartbeat Song
Decent Days and Nights
The Baron
Area
Struck Dumb
Sun Goes Down
Skip to the End
The Connector
I Can Do That
The Beginning of the Twist
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush cover)
Jupiter
//
This is the Life
Man Ray
Work is Never Done

Tour Dates
Jun 07 – Paradise / Boston
Jun 08 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
Jun 10 – Mod Club / Toronto
Jun 11 – Magic Stick / Detroit
Jun 12 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago

The Futureheads: website | myspace | The Futureheads Ready for June North American Tour
The Static Jacks: website | myspace
The Like: website | myspace

If awards for humor were given out to rock musicians, Chris Cain and Keith Murray of We Are Scientists would be the first recipients of such an honor. (What other band would dare include a guide called “Rules of Romance” in their album’s liner notes?) Rock stars are constantly being quoted as saying, “we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” but in the case of We Are Scientists, you definitely get the feeling from their communications with the world (blog entries about horse blankets, silly and self-deprecating Tweets, and faux-cocky Facebook posts) that this band takes those words to heart. In every interview they do, it’s obvious that Cain and Murray are close friends, which no doubt is one of the major keys to their success.

The Scientists split from their label, Virgin, in late 2009 and are now with Masterswan Recordings/Megaforce Distribution. Beyond that, they have also taken a more DIY approach with their forthcoming, highly anticipated third major album, Barbara, produced by long-time collaborator Ariel Rechtstaid. In addition, there was a personnel change: beardy ex-Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows played drums on this album and if the liner notes are to be believed, he is now an official member of the band, even though he hasn’t been seen playing live with Cain and Murray at every one of their gigs this year.

On this outing, the band have eschewed the fanciful synths from Brain Thrust Mastery in favor of the formula that made them indie cult favorites with their first major album With Love and Squalor: incisive lyrics, guitar, bass, and drums. From that description alone, I guessed that fans of the first album would immediately take to this album, whereas those who favored the second would not be as impressed (I fall into the latter). Both “Rules Don’t Stop” and “I Don’t Bite” sound a bit sinister but then turn the corner into classic WAS – melodic, hook-driven melodies with memorable singalong choruses.

These two plus “Nice Guys” and “Jack & Ginger,” the first four songs, are where Barbara shines: the crux of We Are Scientists‘ most successful tunes are immediate, pop melodies with Murray’s frank, funny, and witty lyrics. Check out the funny promo video for “Nice Guys” below; it’s the next single from the album to be released on June 8, just 1 week ahead of the album’s official debut. The low-tech video features humorous but nonsensical captions, Murray’s now-famous red and white Reeboks, and his shenanigans with a scooter around New York City. You can’t help but laugh with these guys.

Then the album turns decidedly darker. “Pittsburgh,” “Ambition,” and “Foreign Kicks” point back to the slower, more stolid “Textbook” of With Love and Squalor and “Ghouls” and “Tonight” of Brain Thrust Mastery; dirge-like, they’re not terribly melodic, and lyrically, they’re not very deep either. “Break It Up” is more upbeat, the sort of track I envision dance instructors who know nothing about the band pick for their class mixtapes for a bouncy, ’80s sound. On a WAS record however, it seems out of place. I’m not complaining though; I’d much rather hear faster tempo songs from this band.

See, the free-wheeling guitars (check out the guitar solo in the bridge) and fun chorus of “Central AC”, the last track on Barbara, lift things way back up and remind you of why you listen to We Are Scientists in the first place. You can imagine them singing this onstage, genuine smiles all around. It’s a good album but it’s noticeably lacking an obvious crowd-pleaser like “The Great Escape” or “Chick Lit,” the kind that fans go crazy over at their shows. That said, the WAS live experience is so unique that even if you aren’t immediately bowled over by this album, go to one of their gigs and prepare to be entertained. And to laugh your head off.

Barbara will be released on June 15 in America on Masterswan Recordings/Megaforce Distribution. Catch the band play these new tunes on their North American tour in July.

Track Listing:
01. Rules Don’t Stop
02. I Don’t Bite
03. Nice Guys
04. Jack & Ginger
05. Pittsburgh
06. Ambition
07. Break It Up
08. Foreign Kicks
09. You Should Learn
10. Central AC

Tour Dates:
Jul 13 – Middle East / Cambridge, MA
Jul 14 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
Jul 15 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
Jul 16 – Black Cat / Washington, DC
Jul 19 – Horseshoe Tavern / Toronto
Jul 20 – Blind Pig / Ann Arbor, MI
Jul 21 – Bottom Lounge / Chicago
Jul 23 – Larimer Lounge / Denver
Jul 26 – Doug Fir / Portland
Jul 28 – Neumo’s / Seattle

We Are Scientists: website | myspace | Brain Thrust Mastery review | @ Johnny Brenda’s | @ Austin Music Hall | @ Electric Factory | @ Black Cat | MP3 Minute: “Rules Don’t Stop” | We Are Scientists Debut “Nice Guys” Single | Interview with: Chris Cain of We Are Scientists

“You can’t control rock ‘n’ roll!” So goes a copyrighted saying proffered by We Are Scientists‘ bassist Chris Cain this past Thursday night at the Black Cat. That evening, Washington D.C. received a wonderful gift in the form of a lively gig from the New York-based indie rockers. As the second of only three gigs on “The Big Fuckin’ Deal Tour,” I was excited that my town was going to receive something truly special: not only would we hear the great songs from their amazing previous albums, but we would also get a preview of their forthcoming album to be released sometime this spring.

The support act for the night was Uninhabitable Mansions, a Brooklyn five-piece playing mostly upbeat pop/rock numbers. I imagine their unwieldy name may put off some from the get-go, but that would be really unfair, as they put on an enjoyable set. Lead singer/guitarist Robbie Guertin tentatively joked with his band mates between songs, reasonably successful in trying to garner the same kind of rapport that WAS have with their fans. At first, with songs like the upbeat “Do You Have a Strategy” made me think they were a straight-forward rock band, but two slower songs threw my radar off, proving to me that they were more versatile than I initially thought. Delivered in wordy Michael Stipe / R.E.M.’s “It’s The End of the World As We Know It” style, the song “We Already Know” was a fun way to end their set, setting audience members’ heads bopping.

WAS took the stage around 10 with the crowd cheering them as they got onstage. Along with wildly energetic versions of their songs, jokey banter between Cain and singer/guitarist Keith Murray is a hallmark of WAS shows. So it should come as no surprise that in addition to the great music, the two also made us laugh a lot with their jokes. After playing a new track called “Jack and Ginger,” Murray laid into a fan stage right that had shouted, “I love Chris!” and replied in mock disgust, “What the heck are you doing on the Keith Murray side? You all know I stand on this side of the stage and Chris stands on the other!” Later on, the two discussed what might happen if American novelist Philip Roth decided to go head-to-head with WAS (presumably in songwriting???), with Cain insisting Roth did that previously with Bon Jovi, and Bon Jovi lost.

You may have noticed I haven’t talked about WAS’s drummer yet. The band has gone through a series of them since they started. Last year there was much talk among WAS fans when former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows was recruited to play with the band; indeed, he played drums on the new album. However, Burrows was unable to join Cain and Murray on this tour, so drummer Danny Allen (on temporary loan from Aussie band Youth Group) was drafted as an interim replacement. During the set, Cain and Murray asked the audience whom they thought Allen looked like; an audience member shouted, “Mark Twain!” Cain looked at Allen, saying, “If you are Mark Twain, consider your contract with us null and void.” Personally, I thought he looked like a cross between Shakespeare and the late, great Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. But forget who he looks like; Allen handily provided the powerful backbeats to WAS’s songs. And let’s face it: the majority of WAS’s songs rely on driving beats, and on songs like “Inaction” and “It’s a Hit,” Allen’s drumming was spot on.

Hearing the crowd around you sing along to every word of a song is an incredible feeling, and this experience was repeated throughout the night as the guys tore through fan favorites like “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” from With Love and Squalor (2005) and “Chick Lit” from Brain Thrust Mastery (2008). “Dinosaurs,” a track from Brain Thrust Mastery, has never really been a favorite of mine. On this night, however, it was fantastic live: the song building and building in intensity to its conclusion and Murray shouting, “It’s natural selection; it’s natural selection; it’s natural selection!” with reckless abandon. As a former biology student, I chuckled to myself, seriously doubting Charles Darwin would have approved.

After the raucous rock-out that is “The Great Escape” and the band left the stage, we all incorrectly assumed that based on the set list, the background music being piped in on the PA, and the unplugging of Murray’s yellow Fender, there would be no encore. However, to our delight and probably somewhat to the annoyance of the band’s guitar tech, they returned to close out the night with a rousing rendition of “Cash Cow.” Murray kept thanking us all night for being so great: Keith, Chris and Danny, on behalf of the Black Cat audience that night, the feeling was totally mutual. And given the preview of four great new tracks, I’m chomping at the bit for the new album.

We Are Scientists: website | myspace | Brain Thrust Mastery review | @ johnny brenda’s | @ austin music hall | @ electric factory
Uninhabitable Mansions: website | myspace