Lately, I have mostly been listening to… podcasts, actually, but that’s not the point, oh no. The point is that We Are Scientists put a new album out in March and I only just noticed – inexcusable!

Brain Thrust Mastery‘s sound is similar to their first album, though a little less rock and a little more pop. I know, what does that even mean, right? All I can say is that if you listen to both then you’ll know what I mean. It’s like they’ve had their edges sanded down and rounded off – I am not sure I like it so much. It’s also more obviously 80s-inspired than With Love And Squalor, with some exceptionally blatant synth warbling towards the end.

The lyrical content of this album is also pretty similar to the last, dealing with themes very close to my heart. That is to say, unavailable women with low self esteem, heavy drinking and its inability to solve anyone’s problems, deep self-loathing, and the kind of relationships that Facebook had to add the “it’s complicated” category for.

Who else feels uncomfortable?

You see, that’s really the prevailing feeling while listening to this album – a kind of knowing, sympathetic discomfort. Some tracks are pretty groovy though, like Lethal Enforcer and Altered Beast (which are both names of ancient arcade games, oddly) so it’s worth a listen.