We Are Scientists Turn the Roundhouse into a Riot of Wit, Riffs and Nostalgia
- Dave Broome
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
Roundhouse, London - 18th October 2025
IMAGES DAVE BROOME / WORDS DAVE R TAYLOR
Great gig with We Are Scientists last Saturday at the Camden Roundhouse. Built in 1846 and morphed into a performance venue in 1968, the Roundhouse has hosted performances by such stars as The Doors (one of only two UK appearances,) Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and more. It’s a great venue for music, with excellent seating “in the round” and a killer sound system.
The opening act was a brief acoustic set by Andy Burrows. Although known mostly as a drummer (Razorlight, and briefly with We Are Scientists,) Andy chose to entertain with an acoustic guitar, joined by Stuart Wilkinson on guitar/mandolin and Greg Nelson on drums. Andy is a unique talent who can drum, strum, sing and (importantly) write great tunes. His short set included both Razorlight and We Are Scientist covers.
After a brief reset of stage, We Are Scientists were welcomed onstage by an announcer, who jokingly said that the band had won several hundred thousand pounds from the “show sponsor, Waitrose.” Funny, silly intro, but fired up the crowd, who were informed that band member Chris Cain didn’t like to perform and would “only come onstage with enough applause” which the audience gladly provided.
Keith Murray, the other half of the co-founding team, definitely brought his a-game energy to the show. He was an exercise in perpetual motion, dancing and jumping around the stage, where artists like Mick Jagger had danced before.
Keith got excellent sound from his yellow Telecaster. He has a solid set of pedals and he knows them well, switching from effect to effect as the songs shifted. After a few tracks he settled into his Stratocaster and spent the rest of the show with it. Audience favorites, such as “Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt” and “What’s The Word” showcased Keith’s guitar skills and effects.
Drums were well handled by Keith Carne, who joined the band as drummer in 2013 for studio work as well as live performances. Keith played a fairly lean drum set, focused more on setting a sparse but driving background rhythm and not multi-instrumentalism. The three have clearly worked together enough to have formed a single consciousness, as they moved tightly through the 25 song set.
To the surprise of the audience, Andy popped back on stage to take over the drums for a track, “Jack and Ginger” after the brief intermission, while Keith moved to keyboards. Andy knows the songs, having written several for the band and having provided drums/guitar/vocals from 2009 – 2014. He’s big fan of the band (“Keith and Chris are the best *&^%$# people in the world!”) and they also think highly of Andy. Great combo.
We Are Scientists play with a style and sound somewhat reminiscent of Interpol or The Strokes. Many of the vocals are sung on the 3rd note of the scale, giving a haunting sound. That unique sound, accompanied by their clever wit and dialog makes for a great show.
With now 9 studio albums under their belts, the band has a lot of excellent content to draw from, and the audience knew it all. This writer has rarely seen an audience as engaged as Saturday at The Roundhouse. Fists were pumping the air, the pit was expanding to include most of the General Admission floor space, and 90% of the audience were singing loudly along with the band. We Are Scientists are genuinely loved, and for good reason. The California-born founders who have now moved to Brooklyn and call themselves a “New York band” definitely gave the crowd just what they came for.
Keith Murray teased the crowd by claiming London as their “favorite city in the world.” Only later did he acknowledge that it was just a device, and that really Akron, Ohio was their favorite. All jokes aside, though, you could tell the band and the crowd were equally invested in the show. Expect further great things from this trio.
SET LIST
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
This Scene Is Dead
Inaction
Can't Lose
Callbacks
Cash Cow
It's a Hit
The Great Escape
Textbook
Lousy Reputation
Worth the Wait
What's the Word
(Extended outro)
Rules Don't Stop
Buckle
Your Light Has Changed
I Cut My Own Hair
(Break for extended bit about London property prices)
Please Don't Say It
Impatience
Lethal Enforcer
Too Late
Chick Lit
Less From You
Encore:
Jack & Ginger
Andy Burrows on drums
What You Want Is Gone
After Hours
Andy Burrows on tambourine and verse 2 harmonies
FOLLOW WE ARE SCIENTISTS
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