New Artists and Fan Favourites: We Are Scientists and Eaves Wilder in Birmingham
10.7.26 - Birmingham, UK
On their most recent circuit, an extension of their 20-year anniversary tour, We Are Scientists played 9 dates across the UK, playing their With Love and Squalor albums in full, supported by ghoulgirl and Eaves Wilder. They extended this originally three-date tour after continued acclaim, and this accolade was clear inside the venue in Birmingham; every crevice was filled with fans, many arriving early to get the best views and to catch the support acts. The O2 Institute in Birmingham has been a continued favourite for the band, having played there on every tour yet, and for sound reason. The venue itself is based in Digbeth, at the heart of Birmingham, and is host to an impressive façade, converted from a 1908 congregational church. The band filled the space again on the 7th of October, playing a great number of fan favourite songs, like “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt”, and the entirety of their debut album, which saw fans singing aloud, one hand wrapped around a friend, the other raising a pint, dancing or jumping.
Photo By Ash Spragg
We Are Scientists are named after an encounter with a U-Haul rental truck worker. The members, all having a similar look and stature at the time, were jokingly asked if they were brothers and, if not, whether they were scientists. The band denied this, but it has become apparent that there is something methodical and almost scientific with the way in which they tour. Having an established fan base, one clever way in which they make their tours unique is by carefully selecting their opening artists. Eaves Wilder is a London-based artist and songwriter whose music toes the line between a 90s dreamy grunge style and the more modern floaty and whimsical genre, akin to that of Sunday (1994) or Florence Road. Her debut album, Little Miss Sunshine, was released in April this year, almost 20 years after With Love and Squalor. Having an artist who has recently released their debut album opening for a band touring in commemoration or their own debut album thoughtfully revitalised some of the excitement that surrounded them at the earlier stages of their career.
Photo By Ash Spragg
What sets Eaves Wilder apart is her authentic self-expression and freedom, both in her records and on stage. With the exponential growth in social media and constant filming causing some artists to shy away from true individualism, it felt like a refreshing change to see Wilder on stage in bare feet, jumping around the stage and singing with a palpable catharsis. She played many songs from her album, Little Miss Sunshine, with guitarist John Harry Green, including “Hurricane Girl”, her first single from the album. The album itself arose from a period of backing away from music, due to feeling a disconnect between the work she was making and how she honestly felt. She had considered becoming a nun to break away from the rigid structures of a modern society, while also fantasising about other ways to do the same, by becoming a cowboy or moving to a life offline in a faraway mountain range. The album itself is a reflection on changes in life, both growing up and the change from trying to make yourself as small as possible to being unashamed to take up space, being authentically yourself and creating art. She describes “How painful is it to become a teenager, and then how painful it is to stop being a teenager and take up more space in the world," a clear theme throughout the album, on tracks such as “Mountain Sized”, “Fifty acres long and ten thousand miles wide”, or “The Great Plains”, “ ‘Cause in these shoes I, I cannot run." The album is a mix of shoegaze and alternative, quirky and experimental new sounds, with these lyrics that encapsulate how it feels to live within modern society, with relatable and poignant themes which almost anyone who remembers being a teenager can relate to. She has not published any upcoming tour dates, however, will be performing at The George Tavern for their annual “Halloweekender” on the 26th of October.
