We Are Scientists Tackle Their Classic Album ‘With Love and Squalor’ Front-To-Back at the El Rey

Matt Matasci

Back in ‘05, Keith Murray and Chris Cain of We Are Scientists released their major label debut “With Love and Squalor.” A high-energy collection of dance-driven indie rock that was en vogue at the time, the album allowed the group to score an unlikely hit single with the song “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.” Fast forward over 10 years and, while the group never achieved the sort of commercial success of “With Love and Squalor,” they have carved out a sizeable niche and even become (for whatever reason) impressively popular across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom. The band just released a new studio album with “Helter Seltzer” and this weekend at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles they performed their breakthrough LP “With Love and Squalor” front to back, followed by a second set made up of latter era hits.

Murray and Cain are known for their jovial manner on stage and this performance was no different. Murray joked that performing the album front to back made things easy for the band as nobody was shouting out requests throughout the show (well, at least not the first half). As promised, the band opened the set with the buzzy early-career single “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” and concluded the first half of the night’s set with “What’s the Word,” closing out that career-making album.

The two then exited the stage as the background was changed, introducing the audience to a pair of decorative purple cats, one smoking and the other wearing a dazzling “We Are Scientists” chain around its neck. A short while later, the group came back out, each wearing a fresh pair of clothes and ready to launch into a set of late career favorites.

We Are Scientists began the second half of the evening’s performance with “Rules Don’t Stop” from their ‘10 album “Barbara.” Other songs from the album performed that night included “I Don’t Bite” and “Nice Guys.” From 2014’s “TV en Français” were the standout songs “Make It Easy” and “Dumb Luck.” “Chick Lit” and “After Hours” came from 2008’s “Brain Thrust Mastery.” And, of course, the band threw in some of their newest songs with “Buckle,” “In My Head” and “Too Late” from “Helter Seltzer.”

We Are Scientists performed their debut album at El Rey Theatre on July 16.