One day while listening to the radio, a rare occurrence for me these days, I became a bit weak with excitement. A new and fabulous single by Elton John was pouring out of my speakers, wrapping me in happiness. The hook went 'Do It! Take Your Mama Out All Night.'
As the announcer came on, I made a most pleasant discovery. Miss Elton had nothing to do with that song. It was, in fact, the debut single of a new band called the Scissor Sisters.
Since I speak almost fluent gay, I LOVED the name the first time I heard it. Scissor sisters, of course, are two gals who, uhh, well, engage in a particular sex act. Get it?
But as most radio music does, it quickly fell out of my head and I completely forgot about them. Fast-forward to a night a Spin, and the opening strains of 'Take Your Mama' video began to play in the front bar. This time I wrote their name down.
Their self-titled debut album 'Scissor Sisters' is a sort of 70's sounding trek through pop rock. There are spacey sounding loops, lots of wah-wah guitars, great keyboards, and a lead singer named Jake Shears that isn't just hot, he's sickeningly gorgeous in both face and vocals at the same time. Pardon me while I swoon for a minute.
By now you should have heard 'Take Your Mama', the debut single. Jake's screaming falsetto is tight and fun and the hook is so infectious, it'll stick with you for hours and hours. 'Laura' the second single, is nearly as hot with thrumming piano and vocals that sound sultry, almost in an oddly T-Boz ( T.L.C. ) way.
There's a cheezy remake of 'Comfortably Numb' that sounds rather New Wave... if any of you can remember that term. I think it's the digital loops. Sweetly sung ballads also grace this diverse album. 'Mary' leaves the most 70's impression. You almost expect one of the brothers Gibb to pop out of the background.
And it doesn't end. There's more stylish and infectious hooks to be found throughout the album. The impressive part is how distinct the tracks sound from each other. This isn't a boring album by any stretch, and you'll want to keep pushing through each song, craving more and more as you go.
Choosing a spotlight track for this album is hard. The homo in me is enamored with 'Filthy/Gorgeous', a track full of slang about being fabulous. My maudlin side loves the slow 'Return To Oz' which is comfortably numbing. And yet, the miscreant loves the track 'T*ts On The Radio' for not only the title, but the screaming falsetto which proclaims 'There ain't no t*ts on the radio!'
With you in 4/4,
Peter Mavrik
peter@windycitymediagroup.com
