Scuzzy Sonic Concoctions from The Scientists
Doing music by the numbers was never the approach that The Scientists had in mind, so sticking to a set formula was not going to be an option. Hence a lot of trial and error.
Since forming as a proto-punk outfit originally called The Cheap Nasties in 1976 (Extra trivia for you, this band would at some point also briefly include Dave Faulkner of The Hoodoo Guru’s) the group flirted with other rock and roll concepts and line-ups, coming to record their debut self titled album – a record that is commonly referred to as The Pink Album – as a three piece in 1981, and disbanding a short time later.
The second reiteration of the band and the sound that they exhibited, is the one that we’re mostly familiar with: Swampy, with a rousing psychedelic twang.
Not unlike some of their contemporaries such as The Cramps & Suicide, as well as borrowing elements from their kinsmen in the form of The Birthday Party.
This second lease of life on the band came with a relocation to England as well as the darker and harsher records such as: This Heart Doesn’t Run on Blood, This Heart Doesn’t Run on Love and their Demolition Derby EP plus a bunch of rerecorded songs for the international market.
This overseas streak didn’t last long however, as the band soon ran into legal troubles surrounding visas, which saw the band returning to their homeland and disbanding for a second time. Frontman Kim Salmon would go onto form Kim Salmon and the Surrealists as well as performing with the Beasts of Bourbon for a while.
So after a significant amount of downtime (spare a small handful of sporadic live reunion performances) The Scientist’s have returned with Negativity, a 35 year in the making album featuring the band’s penultimate line-up.
Kim took sometime out to have a chat on The Band Next Door on 2SER about the band’s greater context of it’s legacy, scheduling tours around scuba diving trips and those ‘relocation’ rite of passages that groups experienced in the 70s and 80s.
Negativity, the deranged new record from The Scientists is out now.
