Not Scientists – Destroy to Rebuild

Lyon based French punk band Not Scientists came to being not through some sort of immaculate conceptions as you might imagine, but rather under more ordinary circumstances, having risen from the ashes of two other local punk outfits (Uncommenmenfrommars and No Guts No Glory). The title of their debut record, Destroy to Rebuild, may well be a metaphor for the band’s creation and in many ways it does a fairly good job of that, but unfortunately in many places it does feel like the record feels like it was made by two different bands. Having said that, considering both bands’ punk legacy, the post/indie punk vibe on a number of the songs like Broken Pieces, These Heads Have No Faces is somewhat surprising. That said, when it’s done well, it is done very well and that is best illustrated by Just Break Me and Over and Out, both exceptional songs that sound both familiar and fresh at the same time. The former features an intro that could easily have the lawyers for The Killers in full swing for it bears a striking resemblance to Mr Brightside, but once the intro ends, simply blows that song out of the water with its nods to 80’s alt-rock and searching vocals. The latter starts off slowly, but just as you may be thinking of reaching for the skip button, the riffs kick in, daring you to do it, and if you resist the urge you will be richly rewarded with a mash-up of post and pop punk which has no business sounding as good as it does.

Sadly that quality does not run through the record, with Window, Broken Pieces and Tomorrow’s Another Day all sounding like they were recorded by a different band and just don’t seem to fit in with the record.

Fortunately the best is very much saved for last. In Barricade the post/pop/punk combinations continue in the most awesome way possible, with this sounding like 90’s melodic punk legends Guns n’Wankers attempting to write an indie anthem. Again, this should be terrible, but it somehow isn’t, featuring instrument drop-outs and crescendo building that kept bringing me back for repeated spins. A simply brilliant way to end a record which may be schizophrenic and difficult to categorise, but is well worth the confusion you may experience while listening to it.