American rock band We Are Scientists return for their 6th studio album ‘Megaplex’. The album see’s the band tackle various music genres across a relatively modest running time of 32 minutes. 

New York based two piece We Are Scientists (Keith Murray and Chris Cain) are now on their 6th studio album (Or 7th album if we are including Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order), as a band they are loved by fans, renowned for a sense of humour as well as their music. Seeing them live, you know the bits between the songs are going to be entertaining as much as the music itself.

Back to the record, Megaplex was released on the 27th April, and see’s the band continue to move away from an indie comfort zone. The album see’s them continue to develop away from from the indie rock guitar riffs of their main breakthrough album ‘With Love And Squalor’

The debut single for the albun is the opening track on the album, called One In One Out, the song is a strong opener on the album, and see’s an electro based tune possibly pave the way for the albums genre? Well, we will see.

Notes in a bottle. This song makes you realise that Keith Murray is a pretty talented guitarist, he is quite understated, but Notes In A Bottle has a fantastic guitar solo and anthemic chorus which gets the party started early on.

Heart is A Weapon. We Are Scientists are a band that have changed and developed and then changed again, always keep you guessing by integrating lots of styles into songs in their record, this song is a mix of R&B and Pop. Lyrics featured such as ‘Your love is like waving a gun, I’ve learnt my lesson, your hearts a weapon’, you cant help but sing along.

Your Light Has Changed. So after a foray into R&B, we have Your Light Has Changed with a foot stomping drum beat with heavy guitar sound.

KIT. This is a softer singalong song, which they have featured on previous albums, this one feels very poignant. ‘Thanks for the memories’ Keith Murray sings over an acoustic led guitar with a prominent bass guitar solo. Its a very nostalgic driven song, tinged with elements of sadness.

No Wait At Five Leaves. Next we have No Wait At Five Leaves, it sees the electric guitar back, and the pace picks up after KIT. You could see this song on With Love & Squalor with Keith screaming ‘It’s not enough for us’ during the chorus

Not Another World. Not Another World Opens, it starts with a very dance-able funky into and a chorus, again bridged with a fantastic guitar solo. Damn Keith, you can play guitar, with all the electro theme’s the guitar solo’s show someone happy to put them in their locker and bring them out sporadically.

Now or Never. With a heavy guitar intro then nestling into a softer intro. ‘So much that you need to know, I only hope that your ready’. Bustling into its chorus.

You Failed. So what style can the band go with now, well this one they channel their inner Prince, with a chilled electronic song, which features a totally different sound,

Properties of Perception. A short 2 and a bit minute indie pop song. You’d be forgiven to think that Johnny Marr was on guitar on this song, with an early The Smiths pop hook to it.

If you are wanting another ‘With Love & Squalor MK2′ then this is NOT it. In all, this is a very ambitious effort and the band should be praised for being able to do and try different sounds. This album works well despite changes in genres and doesn’t feel out of place. In fact, it flows beautifully. With its modest running time, it is about the right length to enjoy the album.

The band continue to evolve and that’s why we love them. ‘Megaplex’ was released on 27th April, and is available in all good record shops and online. They are also touring the record live too so keep an eye out for tickets.

By Tom Holynski