We Are Scientists aren’t, really — at least not scientists in the sense of those labcoat-clad brainiacs who discover new things. They’re a trio of rock-star wannabes who formed in Berkeley and moved to Brooklyn, and who steal less from the classic ’80s postpunk favored by their alt-rock peers than from Interpol and the Killers’ glammy updates of same. (Wait: Maybe that is new!) Fetching frontman Keith Murray has a gothy baritone and looks a bit like that Bright Eyes dude — skinny and dark; in his group’s hooky songs and goofy Hard Day’s Night–style videos, his swaggering helplessness aims to wet panties. “If you want to use my body,” he croons on the lead-off single, “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” “go for it, yeah!” No, it ain’t rocket science. But when they’re headlining arenas, it’s gonna look fairly brilliant.

Download: “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” “The Great Escape”