Friday 27/08/10 We Are Scientists, I Am Arrows @ Audio, Brighton

Fashion and Music have always had a close relationship; since ‘teenagers’ were invented and rock ‘n’ roll exploded into life they have comfortably walked hand in hand. That a high street retailer  should seek to tie themselves to today’s modern day cool carrying Indie-rock stars with their CTRL series of gigs should come with neither shock or vocalised accusations of those involved ‘selling out’.    

Yet before the headliners appeared came the chance to see another band who favours the usage of pro-nouns in there name. Your Army may not yet be a household name but this quartet handpicked by We Are Scientists from a series of competition entries show a handful of promise – spitting out a brief set of Pink-lite hard riffed attitude fuelled rock. 

Andy Burrows name may only currently be recognised by the most devoted of Indie train-spotters but this may be something he casually moves away from; as the songwriter behind Razorlight’s biggest hit ‘America’ has a new outlet I Am Arrows to front his pleasant ear friendly mannered outpourings. Leaving his former group may prove to be the best thing he ever did.

We Are Scientists, meanwhile, are at the other end of the career spectrum; now three albums in and having firmly established themselves as a middling band which no one either has the desire to big up or kick down; everyone has grown accustomed too them and now just everybody expects a solid performance. Yet there is still little doubting that tonight in this dark low ceilinged basement venue serves as a much more intimate setting then both WAS leaders Keith Murray and Chris Cain have grown accustomed too.

Yet while this gig may at first appear to be dressed up as being a corporate sponsored PR exercise, there is also this overbearing sense throughout that this appearance also serves as a final warm up for their rapidly approaching Reading and Leeds festival appearances. And maybe because of this they pull out an almost Greatest Hits sets that mixes fast paced hits such ‘No Body Move, No Body Get Hurt’ and ‘The Great Escape’ with slower based album tracks that puts an end to any accusations of them being a one trick pony, that it is peppered with the kind of acidic banter that many second rate American comedy writers would take much pride over only improves matter further.  

This uncompromising duo may claim to being brain-boxes, but deep down things are pretty nice and simple. Nothing is ever wrong with that. 

We Are Scientists Live In Brighton