Barbara

Album review

Barbara introduces We Are Scientists’ new label and new drummer -- and a mix of the approaches the band took on their two previous albums. Joined by former Razorlight skins man Andy Burrows, Keith Murray and Chris Cain return to With Love and Squalor’s guitar-dominated style, but keep Brain Thrust Mastery’s slick production style. The band sounds more focused than they have in a while, possibly because this is the first time they've had a consistent drummer since the With Love and Squalor days. Brain Thrust Mastery's strummy single “After Hours” feels like the template for many of Barbara’s tracks, including “Rules Don’t Stop,” “Nice Guys,” and “Break it Up,” all of which are bright and breezy with appealing melodies. We Are Scientists recapture some of the bite of their early work with “Jack and Ginger”’s stylish dance-punk, which shows that the Franz Ferdinand and Killers comparisons still hold true. Elsewhere, the band embellishes a little on this formula with “Ambition”’s soul-pop and “Pittsburgh,” a ballad with lush soft-rock harmonies. The album gets better as it unfolds, with the bouncy, chiming “Foreign Kicks” -- whose title must be homage to how much the song sounds like the French Kicks -- and the dynamic “You Should Learn” and “Central AC” providing late-in-the-game highlights.

© Heather Phares /TiVo