Lobes

Theres something wickedly freeing about We Are Scientists eighth album, 2023s Lobes. If 2021s Huffy found the band recapturing much of the hooky post-punk of their early work, Lobes is an equally buoyant album that finds the group drawing from the sleek, clubby sound of 80s acts like New Order and Depeche Mode. Its a combination that the band have been exploring for over a decade, and one that has gained a deeper resonance in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. It was while in lockdown during the pandemic that the trio of lead singer/guitarist Keith Murray, bassist Chris Cain, and drummer Keith Carne recorded both Huffy and Lobes back to back. Consequently, Lobes feels like a darker, midnight companion piece to its brighter, day drive-friendly predecessor. That vibe of finally coming out of lockdown yet still needing time to work yourself up for contact with others drives much of the emotionality of Lobes. On "Dispense with Sentiment" Murray illuminates the idea, singing "Its like Im winding up to speak for the first time in weeks." Equally potent atmospheres pop up elsewhere, as on the dusky dance-rock Tropicalia of "Human Resources" and the sparkling New Order-does-disco number "Turn It Up." Theres also the dichotomously Teutonic and sensual Giorgio Moroder-esque anthem "Less from You," in which Murray croons about a toxic relationship or behavior over a whipcrack beat and icy guitar accents, singing "Enough is always enough/Until its not." Its that feeling of needing to get out of the house and away from your family, or perhaps yourself, that We Are Scientists distill with lab precision on Lobes. ~ Matt Collar