WHO THE HELL ARE. . .

. . .We Are Scientists

Eureka: A U-Haul pulls up to an apartment building somewhere in California. The driver is greeted by three odd-looking guys, kinda geeky but sorta cool too. "Are you scientists?" asks the bemused driver. "No, sir, we're musicians," comes the reply. What the driver doesn't realise is that he's just named the newest rock band on the block, and that the name will soon become synonymous with scuzzy, melodic post-punk wackiness. Five years later, We Are Scientists have released their debut album, With Love and Squalor, and are eternally grateful to that U-Haul driver for helping them strike "titular gold".

Highway to hell: We Are Scientists are guitarist Keith Murray, bassist Chris Cain and drummer Michael Tapper. They met in college in Berkeley, California, where, inspired by Weezer, Pixies, Police, Dandy Warhols, Blur and The Beach Boys, they decided to form a band. Not having written any actual songs, they convened in a local bar and wrote a list of possible song titles on a napkin. The trio moved to New York in 2001 and played their first date in a heavy metal club in Brooklyn. When the crowd realised that these three lab assistant types weren't going to be covering AC/DC or Van Halen songs, they quickly cleared off, leaving just the drummer's girlfriend and one very angry proprietor.

Pussy patrol: The band fared better at further gigs, and began issuing their own self-produced EPs for their growing following. They also started their own website, www.wearescientists.com, to showcase the trio's totally off-kilter view of life, the universe and everything. Check out the review section, where the band give their verdict on Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Florida's Gatorland: Alligator Capital of the World. Their first single, Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt, signalled that these guys were serious. With Love and Squalor is out now; look out for the cover, featuring the band and three cuddly kittens. Note: no small felines were harmed during the making of this album.

Rocket science: We Are Scientists have recently completed a UK tour supporting The Editors, and are currently hoofing it around the US in the company of Ambulance Ltd and Hot Hot Heat. They'll be returning to these parts towards the end of November, when hopefully they'll slot in a Dublin date. "We all want to make the best records and videos and website that we can," says Michael. "We'd like people to like it and we think that they will. If they don't, they should talk to us and we'll try to bring them around."