We Are The Physics: 'We Are The Physics Are OK At Music'

With a confusing and irritatingly self-referential debut album title like that, you would be excused for thinking that We Are The Physics are an annoying-prick kind of band, the kind who seem to think that wearing horn-rimmed glasses and skinny jeans is a suitable stand in for recording a listenable album.

In fact, however, the Glasgow four-piece prove to be a delightfully energetic proposition. The album title, and accompanying song titles (for example ‘Action Action Action Action Action’ and ‘Drawing Anarchy Signs On Your Pencil Case Is Redundant’) seem to be manifestations of a wild kind of excess, like a four-way ADHD that only worsens as the group egg each other on.

The heritage of this record is the mischievous pop silliness of Devo and post-punk’s thrashier directions. It is musically nothing all that original, but what is present is energy by the bucket, and a commitment to making tight and lovable dance-rock, like ‘Bulimia Sisters’ which has a convulsive spasm for a hook with an almost eponymous quality. Thinking about seeing this band live is a prospect so exciting that I break into little air guitar moves at my desk.

‘You Can Do Athletics, Btw’ sees the band as jagged as many extremely left-field guitar acts, and breaking up their song into small parts to almost overwhelm the listener with the idea that their world is falling away beneath them. It is a tactic reminiscent of Deerhoof, and seems to be a sign of a group with more ideas than sense. This is born out by the extraordinary number of sounds on ‘Fear Of Words’ and the obsessive capacity the group have to let all its structure drop to the floor, only to pick things up again seconds later.

‘Pylons And Other Modern Art’ find the group ripping a hole in their own canvas, and leaping out to scream at passers by in gloriously petulant fashion. If the song becomes a little more conventional, it is soon superseded by the unholy crash that opens ‘Networking’, a breakneck rumination on the threatening anxiety of possibly missing out. It burns away like a strip of loo roll.

‘This Is Vanity’ is weirdly robotic type of rage, befitting the band less and straying into boringly conventional territory. ‘Duplicates’ is straightforwardly hyperactive and generally good, but not up to the texture of some of the tracks here. The longest song title - ‘Drawing Anarchy Signs…’ - stands for just seven seconds of noise-a gobbet of anger lobbed at the listener before closing track ‘Cyt#1’ which is the most tuneful effort around, again a little too traditional, but heavy and demented in all the right places.

'We Are The Physics Are OK At Music' is quickly lovable, but burns so bright as to threaten self-immolation. The heavy final third creates a problematic imbalance, but listeners will still be won over.

Released on 5th May 2008 by This Is Fake DIY Records.

Written by Huw Green.