Simon Rushworth
@ Newcastle O2 Academy, March 10 2014
Having seemingly disappeared from the scene, We Are Scientists poked their heads through the cracks this year with the release of their fourth studio album TV En Francais. Always a band known for their high-energy performance, Scientists came out with a bang, racing through their opening numbers to a more than appreciative audience.
Opening with crowd favouite Return The Favour, the tight knitted partnership of Murray and Cain looked reinvigorated, playing with smiles on their faces and bouncing around like teenagers who had only just discovered guitar music. The addition of former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows has added much needed steel at the back and allowed the band to create an album they are once again proud to tour.
Despite their proud new repertoire, it was the old tunes that went down best with the early 20s crowd. Each tune from 2005’s ever-popular With Love And Squalor drew a huge reaction from the Geordie crowd, with tracks such as Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt and This Scene Is Dead drawing a rapturous reception.
As the show moved on the band’s enthusiasm continued to grow, the drinks flowed onstage and Murray’s coordination with the mic started to fade. For those at the front this wasn’t a problem due to the energy that was coming from the band. However, for those further back it made for a frustrating and broken performance.
Despite the slip of at the end and the Academy’s extremely poor sound quality, the band delivered an excellent performance. WAS’s togetherness and renewed vigour is a real joy to behold, after coming through such an uncertain period.
With new material and a renewed passion to perform it seems there’s a lot more to come from the band who claim they’ve just written their best album to date.
Adam Keys