We Are Scientists

It's hard to believe that it is ten years since I saw We Are Scientists perform at Norwich's UEA as pat of the NME Awards Tour. They were on stage immediately before some new kids from Sheffield who had just had a big hit with a song about looking good on the dance floor. The headliners were Maximo Park from Newcastle. WAS won us over that night with the antics of two amiable Californians who had a neat line in between-song banter and, together with their drummer, managed to knock out some pretty punchy songs as well.

Fast forward a decade, the lads from Sheffield seem to have done all right for themselves, and WAS are still going strong, now with a different drummer and touring to promote their fifth album Helter Skelter. It is Halloween, they are playing Norwich's Waterfront. I decide to pass on frightening the neighbours in exchange for sweets, and make my way down King Street to check out Keith Murray and Chris Cain's new material instead.

Openers tonight are Beverly, originally a collaboration between Brooklyn's Drew Citron and Frankie Rose (Dum Dum Girls) that spawned the 2014 album Careers. Rose has since been replaced by Scott Rosenthal on bass, and a new album The Blue Swell now gives Beverly a chance to explore a new slightly darker sound minus the accompanying female vocals that gave Careers its almost West Coast feel. Ironically, Beverly were in the UK last November supporting Maximo Park as Paul Smith and the boys toured to celebrate A Certain Trigger's ten year anniversary. They returned in May to headline a short tour, supported by Norwich's own Box of Light, whose Conor Etteridge is spotted in the audience tonight.

It has to be said that Beverly are impressive. Fleshed out to a four piece for the tour with drummer and additional guitarist they combine retro influences with a contemporary New York indie sound as championed by the likes of TV On The Radio. The result is strangely reminiscent of Blondie (and I really tried to avoid saying that, if only because it seemed such an easy comparison to make with Drew's current hair colour), but at times grungy like Nirvana and yet still with shafts of Californian sunshine as per The GoGo's. But don't be misled by their Halloween white coats and cat costumes – there's a lot more to this band than simply dressing up the classics.

We Are Scientists choose John Carpenter's iconic soundtrack theme from the film Halloween to precede and build to their stage entrance, and I guess I am therefore slightly disappointed when their only concession to dressing up for the night are the crudely drawn whiskers and black plastic cat's ears sported by Keith and Chris. Mind you, Keith Murray fails to keep even these on until the end of their opening song, the lively This Scene Is Dead from their breakthrough album With Love and Squalor. 'Pin them behind your ears!' comes the call from an audience member, thereby prompting the first of the evening's many fast-witted interjections from bassist Chris Cain.

That said, the remainder of the set is slightly disappointing. Yes, their music still has that punchy rock sensitivity and post-punk leanings, but anyone not familiar with their back catalogue would have trouble plotting any form of progression from the early hits towards the new songs from Helter Skelter. During Textbook, another classic song from With Love And Squalor, Murray abandons his guitar and goes walkabout in the audience, and even struts along the bar counter at one point, but musically it all appears a little stale. Even the new tracks are performed without any kind of introduction or back story, and the whole set seems more intent on between-song banter than any kind of serious promotion of where the band is next headed.

The biggest reaction of the night is for the final song, the anthemic singalong-inspiring hit single The Great Escape, during which Beverly's Drew Citron is enthusiastically dancing with us in the front row, and After Hours is sandwiched between another two new tracks for the encore, but the whole performance was only ever really going to impress die-hard fans of the band.

Meanwhile, the evening really belonged to the guys from Brooklyn. Watch out for Beverly next time they are in town.