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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Even though With Love And Squalor quickly ingratiates itself, some of its best parts reveal themselves over time.

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Billboard

Despite undeniable similarities to other bands that arrived at this party earlier, this album lacks pretension and self-importance. [21 Jan 2006]

E! Online

With Love and Squalor certainly won't change pop music as we know it, but it packs surprisingly huge melodies and shamelessly danceable beats.

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PopMatters

With Love and Squalor is pretty much everything you've come to expect from neo-post-punk music: disco beats, prominent basslines, and those ever-angular guitars, all playing under some clipped vocals that have a distinctly British cast to them. And yet, interspersed among the more-of-the-same is a sense of more recent rock history.

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All Music Guide

We Are Scientists come off well in being both snide and playful. Finding that balance is what makes With Love and Squalor a solid debut.

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Q Magazine

A very respectable pop-punk debut. [Oct 2005, p.121]

Pitchfork

Most of these tracks have hooks aimed straight for your jugular, but "Can't Lose" shows the band could go even farther with a little restraint.

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Entertainment Weekly

Despite a lack of originality, their third-gen post-punk is saved by some winning choruses and singer Keith Murray's swaggering come-ons and mocking of the hipster lifestyle. [20 Jan 2006, p.71]

Slant Magazine

Despite losing some steam towards the finish, With Love And Squalor marks this threesome as a band worth watching.

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Alternative Press

Sounds rather pedestrian. [Jan 2006, p.142]

Blender

No, it ain't rocket science. But when they're headlining arenas, it's gonna look fairly brilliant. [Jan/Feb 2006, p.98]

Rolling Stone

Suggests a cross between Bloc Party and the band's tourmates Hot Hot Heat.

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Stylus Magazine

By no means have We Are Scientists made a great record, but it shows enough promise to make us believe that it might just be possible in the future.

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Under The Radar

Bashed-out third-generation dance-punk and Long Island emo. [#12, p.97]

Lost At Sea

For 80s nostalgia freaks, you might find that We Are Scientists have a few things in common with The Cure, and you might find that charming. But that’ll tide you over only so long before you realize this is nothing more than a major label trying to play catch-up by signing somebody who sounds like the flavor-of-the-month.

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Prefix Magazine

Much of With Love and Squalor is like your old coat rack: You know where the hooks are going to be even in your sleep.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Marcus F gave it a10:
Good album

Luke B.D gave it a10:
One of the best albums of the last few years if not the best!!!

Jack gave it a9:
This album is not going to win anything, but it won my heart. I have no idea how the end of the cd is getting so much slack. Between "Worth the Wait" and "What's the Word", i can't stop. Just put "Can't Lose" at the end and you have 3 of the best sounding songs of this year. I just wish the rest of the album was as good as those three.

tom w gave it a9:
One of the best albums released in the past 4 years, along with soad/slipknot/futureheads and modest mouse. Inaction, nobody move, this scene is dead, the great escape are the best songs

Lee H gave it a9:
Don't read the overall review from the critics, as MC has missed out highly favourable reviews from the likes of NME, Guradian, Uncut and Mojo. Not quite a classic, but by no means a risky purchase. Get indie-pop that will keep your head bopping, but not so shallow that you think you'd have heard everything in one listen. Clever and catchy

Gabo S gave it an8:
They may not be the best out there, but man they sound good. "The Great Escape" has to be my favorite song in the album, and the rest of the album revolves on the same sound, basically meaning that if you like one song, you'll probably like the rest. They kinda sound a lot like a mix of almost ALL alternative/indie bands out there, but they still have their own sound. I've been listening to this for about 3 months, and it's only gotten better. The entire album is fun to listen to, and if you ignore some of the lyrics, add em' to your indie rock collection!

Sylvio M gave it a10:
We Are Scientists is the one of the best bands that i had know in the last months, and i heard a lot of new bands.

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With Love And Squalor

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