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- By date
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BillboardDespite undeniable similarities to other bands that arrived at this party earlier, this album lacks pretension and self-importance. [21 Jan 2006]
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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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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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Alternative PressSounds rather pedestrian. [Jan 2006, p.142]
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BlenderNo, it ain't rocket science. But when they're headlining arenas, it's gonna look fairly brilliant. [Jan/Feb 2006, p.98]
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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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Entertainment WeeklyDespite 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]
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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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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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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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Despite losing some steam towards the finish, With Love And Squalor marks this threesome as a band worth watching.
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Even though With Love And Squalor quickly ingratiates itself, some of its best parts reveal themselves over time.
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Suggests a cross between Bloc Party and the band's tourmates Hot Hot Heat.
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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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Q MagazineA very respectable pop-punk debut. [Oct 2005, p.121]
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Under The RadarBashed-out third-generation dance-punk and Long Island emo. [#12, p.97]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 27 out of 32
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Mixed: 4 out of 32
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Negative: 1 out of 32
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Jun 25, 2012
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MarcusFApr 13, 2007Good album
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LukeB.DMar 8, 2007One of the best albums of the last few years if not the best!!!