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Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters When I first heard "Comfortably Numb" by Scissor Sisters, I was outraged—Comfortably Numb is one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs—and then intrigued. Who would have the audacity or the imagination to turn one of rock's greatest songs into something that sounded more like the Bee Gees?
Scissor Sisters seem to have come from nowhere, fully formed, taking on the world with their vision of what an 80s revival should be like. Fronted by the falsetto-voiced Jake Spears, Scissor Sisters actually only contains a single female: Ana Matronic. Bursting from New York, they've decided that the future lies with their peculiar blend of Nik Kershaw, Jan Hammer, A-ha, the Bee Gees, Elton John and Toto.
What at first seems like a pastiche begins to seem, with a few spins of their debut album, like the best idea ever. From the pumping piano intro of Laura, the gentle samba of Take Your Mama (which could be Barry Manilow at his finest) and the Eye of the Tiger Disco cheek of Comfortably Numb, Scissor Sisters manage to make everything that was uncool about the 80s cool again.
They are blessed by the fact that they are excellent musicians and songwriters. Mary, for example, is just sublime, and most of the other songs have more hooks than a fisherman's hat. Scissor Sisters move effortlessly from ballads to Hi-NRG disco, such as Filthy/Gorgeous. It's like the last two decades have just melted away.
The lyrics are gloriously spiky, too: You can't see tits on the radio
I'll give you five fingers
For a one-man show
Fasten those pants for a lap-dance
Take a shot now this may be your last chance From the darkly camp, Tits On The Radio.
The CD closes with the epic sounding Return To Oz, but the UK release sees a couple of extra songs thrown in: The Skins, reminiscent of Duran Duran which asks "Have you been kissed by a computer?" This is followed by the campy Get It Get It, with a slight nod to later acid house in its 80s style electro workout.
Thanks to catchy tunes, the Scissor Sisters debut is an essential purchase. Oozing campy fun and effortless cool, this is the band that finally gets that 80s retro stuff spot on, and yet manages to take it beyond cheesy and make it relevant now. Excellent stuff.
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