We Are Scientists was formed in 2000 in Berkeley, California, but in 2001 moved to New York with vocalist and guitarist Keith Murray, bassist Chris Cain and drummer Michael Tapper in its lineup. Despite settling in New York, more precisely in Brooklyn, the trio can confuse the less informed, who may think that it is another British band, since their music is very close to the sound practiced by contemporary groups like Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and others who stood out in the 2000s, from the United Kingdom. The American band, as well as the Scottish Franz Ferdinand and the English Bloc Party, and many others that emerged at the beginning of the millennium, drink at the source of post-punk, which many years later still served to reinvigorate rock.

The band released three EPs before Virgin Records released their debut album, With Love and Squalor, in January 2006. In 2007, drummer Michael Tapper left the band, and the following year, the group released their second album, Brain Thrust Mastery, as a duo, Keith Murray and Chris Cain. In 2009, former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows joined We Are Scientists. The third album, Barbara, arrived in 2010. TV en Français was released in 2014. The band returned with a new album in 2016, when they released Helter Seltzer.

We Are Scientists has expanded its discography with Megaplex (2018), Huffy (2021) and Lobes (2023).