We Are Scientists are nothing if not consistent. For the past 15 years the New York City-based duo of Keith Murray and Chris Cain have been crafting an infectious brand of indie-pop that's helped them cultivate a musical career that's as dependable as it is danceable. We caught up with them in a dark booth at a watering hole down the street from the legendary Lower East Side venue the Irving Plaza prior to a show they were performing to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their album With Love And Squalor to discuss their brand new release Helter Seltzer and why they were so proud to make it on their own terms.

“Once we left our contract with EMI we have just been financing and making our records entirely on our own and passing it around and saying, ‘Here's the record: If you love it put it out. If you don't love it cool, thanks, talk to you later,’” Murray explains. However, the drawback to this approach is that it ultimately takes longer to get the songs from conception to into the hands (and ears) of listeners. “The benefits are that we get to make the album we want to make, the detriment is that it then takes forever for it to come out because then we have to find a label. But of the three records we've done on our own this one has taken the least amount of time,” he continues in between sips of an expertly crafted Old Fashioned.

In order to keep the recording process moving along, the band self-imposed deadlines on themselves since they only had a temporary lease on the recording space they rented in Dumbo, Brooklyn. But that doesn't mean they were exactly dictators when it came to keeping a consistent schedule. “I think we could have made the record in about a week-and-a-half but because we rented the space for three months we worked pretty lazy hours on it… or sometimes just wouldn't show up on Tuesday,” Murray explains. “I think it was the least stressful record and the most genial album we made because we were just hanging out with friends and kind of working. But we ended up taping every single minute so that we could go back to it.”

Helter Seltzer also saw the band reconnecting with Max Hart, who was the keyboard player on the band's second album Brain Thrust Mastery and subsequently went on to direct music for Tegan and Sara and tour the world playing keyboards alongside Katy Perry. “He just stopped playing with [Perry] because he wanted to get into production and he happened to quit at the same time that we were about to start looking for a producer,” Murray explains. We had written the record and were ready to send demos to people who were interested and he made a pretty hard push for it and we were excited about doing it with someone who was more a friend.” Plus Hart had an added motivation to sign on to the project: “We gave him his foot in the door in the industry like we've done for so many people,” Cain modestly interjects. “It's what we're known for aside from being the nicest guys.”

Correspondingly, the band's fifth full-length is teeming with the kind of catchy anthems that have defined their existence from the deep groove of “We Need A Word” to the upbeat action of “Classic Love” and falsetto-fueled frenzy of “Headlights”... although to call it a traditional pop album might be a bit misleading. “We think of it as a pop record but I don't think most people would,” Murray admits, adding that the band's unique take on the genre has helped them build their own niche in the music world. “I think a lot of indie rock fans who like We Are Scientists think of us as being one of the poppier bands but then a lot of people that love Britney Spears and Katy Perry are like, 'That song by them from Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is great. I listened to their new record and actually really liked it and felt very edgy doing it,'” he adds with a laugh.

That said, being a trailblazer can also come with its occasional burdens, a fact that Cain is quick to acknowledge. “It's been tough. I think iTunes and record stores would love to feature us, but they don't know where to put us and that's been a detriment,” he says. “But in other ways it makes us serious and alluring, certainly a positive thing.”

By the same token the duo acknowledges that although their lives are much different than they were when We Are Scientists started out, they still can't wait to get back on the road and do what it is they do best, which is play these songs live in a different city each night. “It's definitely exciting, we really love playing shows,” Murray says. “We love New York, which is why we've been here for so long and we both have families now and it's hard to be away from them but you can look at the upside or downside of everything... I think there's a metaphor about water or something I could use here,” he adds with a laugh. “Both of us generally tend to enjoy everything we're doing at the time so we're definitely psyched about touring.”

Oh and if you want to take the band out for a drink after the show, you don't need to go anywhere fancy. “Whenever we hang out with each other it's at a terrible hell hole. Simple places, simple pleasures,” Cain admits. In fact those last four words could be We Are Scientists' personal mantra. “If there's a Big Buck Hunter game that's great but otherwise just need beers and bottles and a lot of them,” Murray adds in agreement when pressed about his ideal watering hole. That lack of pretension is also inherent in the band's music and is just one more reason why Helter Seltzer is such an endearing sonic adventure. But don't take our word for it, check out the album for yourself... preferably somewhere dimly lit with a slight stench of stale beer.