We Are The Physics - Your Friend, The Atom

 Back in the old days – back when Hercules Moments was but a twinkle in our youthful eyes and this blog went by a different, long-forgotten (and far inferior) name – our first ever review was of a band called We Are The Physics. Now, four years on, the mutant science punk rock band from Glasgow are on the verge of releasing their second record; it’s time for the past and the future to collide...

Beginning with a series of electronic bleeps and whistles, We Are The Physics’ sophomore effort – Your Friend, The Atom – starts as it means to go on: fun, incredibly entertaining, and not taking itself too seriously. Opening track Go Go Nucleo -> For Science is punk rock meets sci-fi theme tune, and it’s gloriously good fun. It’s over all too quickly, though, before recent single Applied Robotics kicks in. This is classic We Are The Physics fare, reminiscent of the debut album but ramped up a gear: the band sound tighter than before, and their songwriting and musicianship has definitely improved.

The peculiarly-titled   (e.g. Apollo 11), Napoleon Loves Josephine and And So Now We’re Wrestling With The Body Politic follow, each presenting a slice of the catchy punk rock We Are The Physics have gathered a reputation for producing. What happens next, however, is something of a curveball: There Is No Cure for the Common Cold So Don’t Expect a Cure for Cancer. It’s a somewhat foreboding title compared to the rest on the album, and the song that goes with it is slower and more restrained, showing that the four-piece are willing to experiment, and are more at ease with their songwriting ability.

Of course, what could follow that sombre note but an ode to Croatian tennis star Goran Ivanisevic? A demo of Goran Ivanisevic was released as a limited edition free download in 2010, and it has changed little in the two years since. That doesn’t stop if being a killer track, though, with a chant-along bridge and an ending during which signer Michael M’s voice soars majestically. Dildonics is up next, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t smile when a band chants out “D.I.L.D.O.” in a song?! Enough said on that one.

The incredibly danceable Cluedo is comes next, packing a very catchy riff, before Eat Something takes hold. Then we are presented with All My Friends Are JPEGs, definitely one of the highlights of the album, with a chorus that you just can’t help but sing along with. The powerhouse disco romp Junkie Buns chugs along epically towards the end of the album, just leaving room for Circuit Babies and the superbly monikered closer Olivia Neutron Bomb, which ends in rousing guitar-bashing fashion.

In short, Your Friend, The Atom is a fantastic album: great fun to listen to, and it’s a fine example of how the band have evolved and developed the sound first heard on 2008’s We Are The Physics Are Ok At Music.  Destined to appear on many ‘Best of 2012’ lists, We Are The Physics have really outdone themselves with this record and deserve all the praise they get. Buy it, listen to it, cherish it. You won’t regret it.

Your Friend, The Atom by We Are The Physics is out on the 22^nd of October via This Is Fake DIY records.

ES