Magic Hour
Scissor Sisters
Polydor
“I'm very critical of our own stuff” says Jake Shears of the
Scissor Sisters. “But song for song, this is our best album.” It’s a bold
statement to make, especially to criticise three albums that have turned this
US band from quirky New-Yorkers to international Popstars. But at the same
time, Jake may have a point, with many critics believing the Scissor Sisters
are still yet to recreate the initial pizzazz seen on their self titled debut
album. So, they return with their 4th LP, Magic Hour, aiming to bring the fun back to the Top 40.
Baby Come Home
bounds in as the first track on the album, and the second single to be released
from it. Piano chords bounce brilliantly along towards a chorus with one of the
best hooks heard from the Scissor Sisters since I Don’t Feel Like Dancing. Best described as retro pop, it does
exactly what a first track should do: open the album and entice the listener. Keep
Your Shoes On follows and is clearly
inspired by Pet Shop Boys and balances between the funky and the annoyance. On
first impressions it’s easy to reach for the skip button and jump past this
club track, but if you give it time, you will be rewarded. Sear’s high pitched
style of singing will always get comparisons to the Bee Gees, especially on tracks such as Inevitable. This beautiful ballad builds
into a melodramatic crescendo and is a much needed break before lead single Only the Horses. Featuring the Midas
touch of DJ and producer Calvin Harris, Sear’s vocals soars over stabbing
synths to make one of the best tracks on the album. Ana Matronic, the only
female member of Scissor Sisters and one the most understated women in pop
introduces Let’s Have a Kiki,
explaining a “Kiki is a party, for
calming all your nerves”. This peculiar track mixes catwalk style beats
with spoken verses to create a song that is bizarrely highly infectious. But as
odd as this is, it’s nothing compared to the pop-rap-esque combo of Shady Love. This track mixes styles and
artists, namely Azelia Banks (Of 212 fame)
to create a song that isn’t like any other Scissor Sisters track. But that is
something that Magic Hour shows about
the Scissor Sisters. They can use styles that they would be advised to steer
well clear of, and yet still manage to make a hit. The Secret Life of Letters shows their vulnerable and slow side,
with a backing piano spiralling up and down the scales accompanying the almost
poetic lyrics. It makes for a beautiful track, that arguably should be released
as a single. But not all tracks could be, with Self Control being littered with sexual undertones, while F**k Yeah is much more obvious with its
message! But that is, and always has been the Scissor Sisters way: Cheeky;
quirky and fun.
Whether this is the best album made by the New-Yorkers is
still undecided. But what this fab four piece band has done has brought their
unique style back to UK. A much needed return from a group that clearly enjoys
making musical magic.
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