We Are Scientists - Barbara

With the release of 2006's breakout second album With Love and Squalor (and the succeeding album Brain Thrust Mastery released in 2008), We Are Scientists has since become a successful indie rock songwriting duo (composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Keith Murray and bass guitarist and back-up vocalist Chris Cain) known for catchy hooks, sharp melodies and playful but heartfelt lyrics. Barbara, the band's fourth album, has much of what their fans have come to expect from their music – perhaps too much.

This effort has all the stylistic elements that have defined the band, just not at the level of their two previous albums. Barbara contains nothing as witty as With Love and Squalor's “Nobody Move Nobody Gets Hurt” nor does it boast anything as engaging or heartwarming as Brain Thrust Mastery's “After Hours”. Yet, Barbara does contain songs that are witty and some which can be heartwarming. It's as if the band is going through the same motions as before but they've lost the edge that made that made their previous works refreshing.

However, the duo's forth effort does mark an improvement in the mechanics and development of We Are Scientist's sound. Much of the credit for this technical development is due to new drummer Andy Burrows. He is a good match for the sound of the band and he provides creative arrangements (especially in “You Should Learn”) although he did better work in the more eclectic structure of his previous band Razorlight.

The band's more intricate sound is most apparent on the slow and haunting Pittsburgh, with Murray singing “All we want is to be together” over layered guitars while Burrow rolls deep-sounding drums in the background. The combination produces a dark, haunted sort of sound which contrasts well with the song’s mundane lyrics dealing with the pointless frustrations of flirting.

But while the structural development of “Pittsburgh” complements the content of the song, the sounds in Barbara are much too often a replacement for content. This is because while We Are Scientists is still succeeding at the things it does best, it is also hindered by the limitations it has always struggled with. Cain doesn't create riffs longer than a couple stanzas and Murray is still rarely able to make vocals purely emotional or purely witty. He only seems to know how to tease that line, while too-often ending up with lyrics which are vague and empty.

In a very simple way, the lack of content can be noticed in the much too repetitive nature of many of the album's tracks. For the first three songs of the album, the choruses are almost exclusively made up of one line repeated over and over. Murray sings “Rules don't stop me, forget about it”, “I don't bite but you can't believe it” and “If you're the nice guy act like the nice guy” as the respective choruses for the first three songs of the album, aptly named “Rules Don't Stop”, “I Don't Bite” and “Nice Guys”.

Repetition is not always a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it is an absolutely necessary part of good thematic elements within an album. However, in this instance, it is a clear replacement for content. After a full listen, Barbara doesn't yield one theme or idea attractive enough to latch on to.

In many ways, the new album is just as pretty as We Are Scientists' previous efforts, it's just not as engaging. In short, Barbara is a very listenable record, but it's also very forgettable.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Vampire Weekend - Contra

At first listen, Contra may feel like a repeat of Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut. The songs are made of the same upbeat cacophony of often-neglected instruments and rich sounding vocals, and lead singer Ezra Koenig is still making aristocratic references which plebeians cannot comprehend.

But underneath the familiar sound is a subtle and engaging album. With Contra, Vampire Weekend has learned to thrive on the little things – like the dream-like piano lining the background of “Taxi Cab” or the faint guitar picking in “White Sky” and the slow building bridges in “Diplomat's Son.” Layered over a strong base of refreshingly creative vocals (especially the smooth, meandering rap in “Cousins”) and catchy riffs, these small tangents fit together like colored pieces in a stained glass window. Each idea is beautiful in its own right, adding to a greater composition.

While Contra may not boast anything as simply infectious as “A-Punk” or “Oxford Comma,” it is a more fulfilling effort from a band which has reaffirmed its identity while simultaneously expanding its borders.

4/5 Stars

The Informant!

The true story of FBI informant Mark Whitacre is probably not as relevant as it would have been in the mid-to-late ‘90s when corporate crime was rampant. But it is a very interesting and outrageous story — one that director Steven Soderbergh (Che), working with Matt Damon for the fifth time, and writer Scott Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) very wisely tell as a brilliant comedy.

The Informant! follows Whitacre (a slightly heavier Matt Damon, The Bourne Ultimatum), a highly paid executive at an agricultural company called Archer Daniels Midland, as he decides to tell FBI Special Agents Brian Shepard (veteran TV actor Scott Bakula, Chuck) and Bob Herndon (Joel McHale, Community) about his company’s involvement in illegal price-fixing.

After looking into the case, the FBI agents convince Whitacre to wear a wire so he can give them enough evidence to take down the company. But Whitacre’s intentions aren’t as simple as the agents think. He has delusions of grandeur and seemingly aspires to be both a smooth secret agent (0014, because he is “twice as smart as 007”) and the new visionary leader of the company he is working to ruin.

As the FBI and Whitacre inch closer to their goal, it becomes very apparent the “white hat” protagonist isn’t telling the whole truth about his own part in ADM’s illegal practices. A snowball of hidden agendas, blatant lies and exaggerations ensue.

Throughout all the outrageous plot developments and twists, Whitacre narrates the story with a curious musing. He continually talks about things which are scarcely related to the unfolding events. Even as he is chest-deep in allegations of money laundering, kickbacks and millions of dollars in fraud, his only rambling thoughts are of the hunting rituals of polar bears. Or how he thinks his hands are his greatest asset in a meeting. Or why he thinks the metric system failed in the United States.

For this reason, he is a completely unreliable narrator and keeps the audience from ever seeing the whole truth. His thoughts are not only extremely funny, but this style of narrating gives The Informant! an element of surprise that is necessary for any good comedy. The voice-over is like a comedic magic act — it distracts the viewer with Whitacre’s hilarious musing, while all the real fun brews hidden in plain view.

The effect is only intensified by Damon’s brilliant performance. He uses a quiet and curious tone, mixed with exaggerated outbursts to give the main character a truly unique persona. He makes Whitacre believably unbelievable.

This is perfectly complemented by the expansive supporting cast. From Tony Hale’s (of The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and Arrested Development fame) performance as Whitacre’s overly passionate lawyer to Scott Bakula’s straight-faced portrayal of Agent Shepard, everyone involved makes the movie seem effortless.

This feeling is also a by-product of the movie’s perfect pacing, brought upon by a good screenplay and careful directing. No scene or joke is drawn out for too long — a very common mistake in comedies — and at the end of the movie it is surprising how much has happened. But at the same time, Soderbergh draws enough fun from trivial things (like a scene of Whitacre narrating an FBI tape) to keep the laughs rolling.

The most interesting thing about The Informant! is the fact that it is a comedy. The story of Whitacre is actually a pretty serious affair and could easily be told as a drama. The filmmakers realized this but still decided to tell the story as it is, all while drawing out the irony and insanity it contained.

For this reason, The Informant! is unlike many comedies out there today. It never stretches for laughs. It is simply an interesting and well-told story — one that just happens to be hilarious.

4.5/5 Stars