To name a band after a lesbian sex position and have the lineup include ex-strippers and a female drag impersonator probably means that band won’t be taken seriously.
Scissor Sisters – who did just that – nonetheless tiptoed briefly into grave territory with their self-titled 2004 debut of dark beats and even darker subject matter. Set in the shadows of New York’s gay clubs, the songs attempted to emphasize how a bit of makeup could hide anyone from a past of drug use and death.
Their sophomore release, “Ta-Dah,” rids itself of melodrama and breaks clear out into the limelight. This time around, they just want to make everyone dance without care.
Frontman Jake Shears decided to write a more optimistic album after a humbling return home to the States from their massive European tour.
Although they enjoyed a small U.S. hit with “Take Your Mama,” a hilarious pop ballad about getting a mother drunk enough to accept her son’s coming out, the Sisters have yet to achieve the chart success here that they did across the pond.
“I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ ” was born of this wake-up call, serving as the album’s first single and a thankfully joyous contradiction to its title. Although Shears howls about staying in and feeling low, the song is made for getting down and getting plenty of attention while doing it.
The attention will be deserved. Scissor Sisters finally has achieved a fuller pop sound with “Ta-Dah.” Sleazy disco guitars, spacey psychedelic beats and pounding cabaret pianos structure “Ta-Dah’s” nonstop whirlwind of glittery ridiculousness and good, dirty fun.
“She’s My Man” and “Lights” are energetic disco face-offs, while supporting vocalist Ana Matronic shows her chops on “Kiss You Off.” Her adorably nasty breakup ditty finds Matronic cackling “Kiss you off my lips / I don’t need another tube of that dime store lipstick / I think I’m gonna buy me a brand new shade of man.” “Land of a Thousand Words” is a martini-soaked ode to sultry “James Bond” movie themes.
Sure, their extravagance can get a bit exhausting at times, and songs like “Ooh” are so air-puffed they can’t help but deflate.
But “Ta-Dah” is far more fleshed out and consistent than its predecessor. Although the first record had its charms, the dance floor drug trip of influences (David Bowie, Roxy Music, Duran Duran, Elton John, Queen, The Bee Gees) was too scattered.
On “I Can’t Decide,” Shears knows “It’s a bitch convincing people to like you” anyway. He is aware many may still hang by the wall and refuse to dance. Maybe seriousness is necessary. Maybe the party has to stop eventually, when the makeup starts to run and the feet tire of 3-inch stilettos and the disco ball stops turning.
Nah.
