Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah

Genre rock Publisher Universal Motown External Links Official Scissor Sisters Website Official Universal Motown Website

Sure, the Scissor Sisters grabbed a fair amount of press the first time around for their cover of the Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" and then proceeded to release an album of the greatest songs Elton John was too coked up to write. But Jake Shears, Babydaddy and the crew are back, and now the pressure is on.

But it's just lazy to dismiss the New Yorkers as another bunch of irony-drenched retro hipsters. The Scissor Sisters use glam, one of the most paradoxically egalitarian of pop genres, as a starting point for their pop soundscapes. It isn't the point of Ta-Dah to prove that the band is capable of aping genres for its own sake. Shears' lyrics may sound retro in tandem with the admittedly music-hall arrangements, but there's something about his voice that rises above irony. Even the space-rock of "The Other Side" becomes poignant in Shears' capable hands, and "Might Tell You Tonight" almost makes me cry. (I'm a wuss). Opener "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" is the cheesiest song on the album (and the catchiest!) but Shears intentionally goes OTT on this one, from the Brit rhyming slang (Joanna = piano!) to the laser effects to the insane falsetto. Even that can't hide the heartfelt declaration of love in the lyrics.

Ta-Dah is a depth charge of an album - it starts catchy and sticks with you despite your best efforts.