Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

When ATL first stumbled across We Are Scientists a good few years ago, we were charmed by their playful, adorable indie-rock sounds. Much more fun, much more easy-going and much less egotistical, they stood out from their counterparts. So, with that trademark sense of whimsy lacking in their second album, should we be apprehensive about tonight's gig?

No. A new frenetic urgency about the new songs, and the big-hitters from their debut (This Scene is Dead, Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt, It's a Hit and so on) lifted the roof of, with the kind arena-sized hollers usually reserved for the Backstreet Boys.

It's not hard to see why the crowd were so enchanted. These guys have amazing energy live, pitch-perfect sound, infectious and captivating indie-rock melodies, a wonderfully self-effacing sense of humour, a very natural ease on stage, so much charisma dripping off of them that it was practically being collected by the bucketload, and yet no discernable ego whatsoever.

Keith and Chris chat to each other and to us very amiably, making silly jokes about underwear, about Chris de Burgh's Lady in Red, about us cheering in C.
They're having a ball, as are the crowd. They even threw in an extra song in the encore, just for us Belfast lot (Γ―ΒΏΒ½ask Galway, ask Dublin, they didn't get this!Γ―ΒΏΒ½).

Absurdly endearing, insanely fun and joyously raucous, We Are Scientists aren't going to change your world, but for one night, they will rock the hell out of it. Μύ Μύ

Orla Graham
(photo - Alan Maguire)