Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters > Reviews > "Shissher Shistersh?!"

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	Truly Original  -  Very Unique
Disadvantages:	Some singles over - hyped, others under - rated  -  may not appeal to all

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

….As my Dutch friend exclaimed, when asked “Do you have the Scissor Sisters back in Holland?”

But it turns out they do. She was just ignorant.

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So – the Scissor Sisters. Part of me thinks, “Why am I writing this?”. At this stage, everyone knows everything about them. They’ve taken the UK by storm, and the album reached the prestigious Number 1 spot earlier this summer (at the time of writing, they are still somewhere in the Top 10)
Now, I’m going to bore you with the mandatory “About Them” section.

“Who are Scissor Sisters?”
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In the unlikely event that you actually HAVE been in a cave on Mars on mars, with your eyes closed and ears shut, you may actually NOT have heard of them. In which case, you’re probably not actually reading this or genuinely don’t care, but someone will probably string me up if I don’t leave some useful information about them.

Scissor Sisters aren’t actually a bunch of related female cutting devices. However, as popular belief for once truthfully follows, they are gay. All but one – Mr Boom.
Scissor Sisters are:

Jake Shears
Babydaddy
Ana Matronic
Paddy Boom
Del Marquis

(They do have real names, of which those listed above are loosely based on, but, helpfully, I can’t remember them.)
Scissor Sisters, as my memory should serve me correctly, were formed by Jake and Babydaddy several years ago in New York. Somewhere along the way, they picked up the other 3 members. After performing in many locations around the New York gay scene, they finally produced the album, of which this review is (supposed to be) about.
Everyone thinks they are influenced by the Bee Gees – this would be because Jake Shears often sings with a high voice and some of the songs are quite Retro Disco-esque (spelt that wrong).
Maybe there is some truth in that belief, but Scissor Sisters are also genuinely influenced by some of Elton “Mr Abuse” John’s earlier work. This is echoed in the fact they supported him in his recent tour.

How did I discover Scissor Sisters?
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Well, firstly, thanks for asking.
It all started waaaaay back in April when I decided to put QTV on for the first time in – God knows. Just as I did, a band totally unheard of to me came on, performing some (to me then) ridiculous song called “Take Your Mama”.
The video, featuring the band dressed up in silly outfits in various animated locations, was equally ridiculous. I watched till the end, then switched off.
Then something happened. The song stayed in my head.
Later, I went out with some mates and told them about having seen these “Scissor Sisters” on TV and to my amazement one of my mates had the song, and loved it.
After a few days I gave in to temptation and downloaded Take Your Mama. It didn’t take too long before I was well and truly hooked.
The song soon became an adopted part of our Friday and Saturday nights out – mainly because it includes the line “We’ll get her jacked up on some cheap champagne”, and big in those days when we were classy 15 year olds, we used to buy those 82p bottles of champagne from ASDA and take them round to someone’s house.
Forget the fact that I have basically admitted we once almost dangerously crossed over the boundary into becoming genuine Pikey scum – note instead the fact we had an association with the music.
Later on, Scissor Sisters released Laura on single, and after it too stuck in my head, I was left simply with no choice but to buy the album.

Album Art
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Amazingly, asides from the front cover, the “Art” inside the sleeve of this album is relatively plain.
The front cover features some kind of luscious rural scene, with a lady in white strolling towards some kind of portal, in which seemingly Times Square can be seen. Around the portal is scribed “Scissor Sisters”, featuring the now famous SS logo – a pair of scissors where the blades are instead a pair of legs. Nice.
Inside, the lyrics for all songs except for the bonus tracks are featured, in black font on white. Flip the sleeve over and there are individual photos of each of the band’s members in interesting poses.
Interestingly, the band’s single releases are incredibly different to the album in that they feature the most fantastic cover art, very unique and original, ablaze with colours and intricate designs.
It’s actually worth buying the singles on vinyl for the fantastic artwork, if you have that kind of money at your disposal, which, if you’re like me, you probably don’t.

The Tracks (!)
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[Track name – Time – My Personal star rating (“Wow! Stars!” etc.) – 5 being excellent, 4 being very good, 3 being good/alright, 2 being alright/poor/bit crap, 1 being “Genuinely Appalling”.]

Laura – 3:36 - *****
I’m surprised you’ve asked me to tell you about this (alright – so you didn’t – sit down then). Along with many others this summer, this song was incredibly over played to the extent that the now infamous chorus of “Cha’mon!” had it’s novelty stripped off.
It starts off with a steady piano chord (chord?) that sounds dangerously as though it could be the start of * that * Moby song (“Which one?” you ask. But they’re all the same!). Then comes in that nice slow footstep-like beat which makes the song sound dangerously like something out of Thomas the Tank Engine. But then – * phew * - in comes a slightly funky accordian (or something like it – my knowledge of musical instruments is fairly non-existant) and Jake’s singing and you know this is going to be great. Overall – a very good track, well suiting as an album opener too.

Take Your Mama – 4:31 - *****
As explained before, in my opinion (and in many others) THE best song on the album, certainly the best single. However it remains largely under-appreciated.
Opens with a nice little Elton-style guitar and piano chord (chord? again) and Jake’s singing, low for the most part but, comically, and well suiting, it jumps to impossible highs in all the right places.
The actual chorus is the best bit – especially if you watch the video, with Jake’s kicking (watch it to see what I mean!) and then the fantastic high-pitched second chorus.
I’m sure I make the song sound fairly horrific but it is genuinely one of my favourite songs of all time (a very prestigious position!).
Listening to the song (it never gets old), reminds me of when I first started going out and having a social life, as previously stated, this was the song to mark those moments.
Also going on holiday this year, this song was probably among the most sung, largely thanks to yours truly – and I also have the honour of having seemingly introduced it to the Dutch populace (although now it would seem Scissor sisters are actually quite well known in Holland anyway?)
Just never mind the fact the song is about coming out to your mother in a gay bar. No, really.

Comfortably Numb – 4:26 - ****
The first single released on the album, and is quite well known but not as famous as Laura. To the disgust of many Pink Floyd fans, and the delight of everyone else, this is a “cover” of the PF classic, except Scissor Sisters have changed into a funky, admittedly Bee Gees-style disco tune. Very funky indeed. High vocals all the way. Very different to the other singles.

Mary – 4:40 - ****
The latest single (at the time of writing), which was released to a small degree of controversy, in that it just doesn’t immediately strike you as of single quality.
It’s a slow, piano-based tune that really didn’t grab me until after a few listens. Speaking to friends, they agree – when it was released, many cries of “What is this crap?” were heard, although now everyone seems to like it.
It’s actually quite a nice, powerful song (especially once it gets going) with a lot of sentimental value.
Apparently, Mary is Jake’s real life best friend, and this is a very fitting tribute. Mary is one lucky gal.

Lovers In The Backseat – 3:18 - ****
I actually really like this one, but reading many reviews on this site I have seen it described as “Disposable” and “A filler”.
It has a really nice, almost disconnected, dreamy opening that jumps quite suddenly into the main song.
Relatively slow, though not without funky rhythm and vocals, this song takes me back to when I was “Revising” for GCSEs as I used to listen to it quite a lot then. It’s that little ever-present background beat/noise thing that does it.

Tits on the Radio – 3:14 - ***
Ah, good old Tits on the Radio. Amazingly, this song is about some change in licensing hours in New York (Or something – correct me if you have the right info). However what makes this song really tick (and the fact my friend managed to sing the chorus almost continuously for a week after listening to it just once) is its funky beat, feel, vocals (although not the bizarre lyrics) and the fact that Ana Matronic takes over for the main part of the singing.

Filthy/Gorgeous – 3:47 - ***
Set to be the next single – release date early 2005, but shooting of the video was back in October.
I quite like this song, it’s not the best on the album but by no means deems it bad in anyway.
Again, very funky, interesting and-well placed sound effects abound make this yet another unique track. Quite similar in ways to Tits on the Radio.

Music is The Victim – 2:47 - ****
Back to the same kind of style as Laura and Take Your Mama – in that low vocals and tinkling, funky pianos make up the muscle of this track.
It opens with a good promising guitar, which reappears later in the track.
I like it, although again its not one of my favourites. The final section is the best part.

Better Luck – 3:08 - ****
One of my favourites, not sure why exactly though. Again, sticks to the same style of piano, reasonably steady beat and low vocals.
The best part though is when the high-noted piano jumps in quite early on and then again at the end.
In all, the song is good fun but remains quite serious (yes – it is possible with Scissor Sisters), and again seems quite under-appreciated.

It Can’t Come Quickly Enough – 4:39 - ****
This is another song which seems to have an almost Cult-like following, though this time it’s very understandable.
The song is unique – even amongst all the others on this album, and definitely has a very “Special” feeling about it, which is why it astounds me SS haven’t released this – or perhaps they don’t want the song to be too commercialised.
It definitely has borrowings from ‘80s tracks – in particular of The Pet Shop Boys (incidentally, Neil Tennant’s mother used to live just down the road from me! How’s that for a claim to fame) which all works very well to create a powerful beat, rhythm, and strong, emotional vocals. Excellent stuff.

Return to Oz – 5:08 – ****
Originally the concluding song to the album (and it has that kind of feel to it) this track never struck me particularly.
It reminds me personally of Queen’s Bohemian Rapsody in places (once it gets going, although I’m willing to bet there are people who would argue with that.
Incidentally, I’m genuinely unsure as to what the song is about – and whilst that could be said about many songs on this album, this song stands out in particular for that.
It’s slow and powerful, a bit like a bouncer, only this song is nice to listen to.
Somewhat annoyingly, it fades out and there’s a section of silence at the end, which may annoy people who listen to the album on shuffle, but to me it provides a nice break in between songs.

Message From Ms. Matronic –
Just a message from Ana Matronic in ironic tone, needlessly telling us about how to go about listening to the rest of the album. Adds a nice humorous twist.

----- Bonus Tracks -----

The Skins – 2:55 - *****
I personally love this one. The main chordy thing is great for listening to when bombing down a motorway at high speed (Note: do not listen to this track when driving anywhere near London).
High pitched vocals and a funky beat once again take control of this unusual but fantastic track.

Get It Get It – 3:47 - *****
Another favourite. The song is in similar style to The Skins – funky, fast-paced beat, electronic sounds and high pitched vocals. Good for listening to when getting ready to go out somewhere in a hurry (speed, style and lyrics of song are highly appropriate).
Opens with an interestingly vast paced electric violin (or something similar), ends in unusual high pitched screaming, which interestingly, actually sounds good, followed by that violin again.
A fitting conclusion to the album.

Conclusion
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Scissor Sisters is a truly superb album. It manages to borrow many different influences and be amazingly unique and original at the same time. Although the music can probably me divided into two different styles, spread out across the album, no two songs sound the same and the momentum is kept up consistently.
Although some may be put off the band by their unashamedly camp style, most people with any sense will realise this is primarily taking the mick – and who really cares how they act and dress anyway? They’re fantastic entertainers, very light heated, and above all, the music is fantastic.

Thanks very much for reading. Hopefully I’ll be around here a bit more from now on.

Interesting links

www.scissorsisters.com - official website