Every now and then a new band comes along that seems to blow everyone else out of the water with a sound that is fresh, totally different, and that makes your jaw drop with just how good it is. Unluckily for us, half of these bands tend to get a Mercury Prize nomination and drop off the face of the Earth forever. Hopefully We Are The Physics intend on sticking around for a while because their sophomore release ‘Your Friend, The Atom‘ is ridiculous – in a good way – with fourteen, oddly-named, outbursts of musical energy (no pun intended).
The band – named Michael M, Michaelguitar, Michaeldrum and, breaking the pattern, Chris – inject something inexplicable into every track. There’s never a dull moment and not a single inch of each carefully constructed song goes unnoticed. Self-described as a “new wave sci-fi punk band” We Are The Physics simultaneously remove themselves from the mainstream, yet their interesting choice of description reflects the diverse elements of their music.
‘Go Go Nucleo -> For Science’ kicks off the math rock blend of noise and melody, and the band’s Glaswegian accents drive the song along. Steering away from the traditional melancholic tone of the majority of contemporary Scottish bands, the energetic vocals and pounding drums are exciting and addictive. By the time second track ‘Applied Robotics’ comes along, there’s not much more the band needs to do to ensure the listener’s totally hooked.
The confusingly-titled ‘&npbsp; (e.g. Apollo 11)’ sounds, at times, like Biffy Clyro during their Infinity Land era, all jumpy vocals and erratic guitars. Within seconds ‘Napoleon Loves Josephine’s’ intro of chanting and clapping descends into a blend of Klaxons-esque electronics and the commercially appealing guitars of Bloc Party or The Vaccines.
‘And So Now We’re Wrestling With The Body Politic’ slows the tempo down briefly but, before you’ve had a chance to settle down, the Michaels get you out of your seat again with another burst of built up momentum. Who knows how many Red Bulls these guys have had but there’s no stopping them.
‘There Is No Cure For The Common Cold So Don’t Expect A Cure For Cancer’ tones things down a bit, with melancholic lyrics and warped electronics and, finally, we reach the halfway point with ‘Goran Ivanisevic’. Starting off like the soundtrack to a Super Nintendo video game, the jumping percussion presents oddball choruses and confused verses.
By this stage in the game, even listening to the record feels as though it takes as much energy as the band are exerting throughout the album. One intense song after the other is exhausting, even just as a listener. ‘Dildonics’, ‘Cluedo’ and ‘Eat Something’ all start to blend into one song, each with a distorted, blunt intro and two minutes that follow filled with frantic guitars and shouty vocals.
Whatever We Are The Physics are trying to do with their peculiar names and idiosyncratic tracks, they seem to be doing it well. It looks like the guys are determined to share their energy with the rest of the world and, upon just one listen of the album, it’s hard not to join in. Just take short breaks once in a while or you’ll never get the science rockers out of your head.
KATHRYN BLACK