Search - Scissor Sisters :: Night Work

Sexy, Dirty, Playful

H. Semones | Denver, CO United States | 06/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Four years after their mediocre sophomore effort, Scissor Sisters is back. Between albums they lost a band member and scrapped an album that was 18-months in the making. Upset, Jake Shears flew to Berlin to escape for a while. He found more than solace there and became inspired by the nightlife in the busy city which in turn became the launching pad of what is arguably the best of their three albums.



What's inside is perfectly described by the Robert Mapplethorpe cover: sexy, dirty, playful. It's an album showcasing a band rediscovering the fun of their hungry years. Night Work could easily be considered a concept album, but feels more like a raunchy history of pop music lesson. The band, with the help of producer Stuart Price (Madonna, Kylie Minogue), have encapsulated 1977 - 1982 in nearly perfect chronological order as homage to the occupation of hitting the clubs. In other words, the night work.



The opening track is an overture to a suite of music easily made into an underground Broadway show. "Night Work" tells us why we're here while the next track -- "Whole New Way" -- chronicles Jake's trip to Berlin. When he sings, "I found a whole new way to love you...it's going to blow your mind but, if not, this time we're through," he's not singing of a human relationship, but the one with his music-making abilities.



"Side 1 continues to take us through the 70s with songs that would make Disco Tex, Foxy and early B-52s proud. It also features background vocal turns by 80s icon Helen Terry on "Whole New Way," Kylie Minogue on the excellent "Any Which Way," and Santigold on "Running Out." The second half is full of Kraftwerk, DEVO and Gary Numan in its journey through the early part of the 80s.



And when we arrive at the last track, "Invisible Light," Del Marquis begins his Pink Floyd guitar and slowly the track builds into an epic disco song Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder were famous for bringing into existence. It's the swirling decadence of an opium den -- hyper, calming and dangerous all at the same time. Even Sir Ian McKellen shows up for some wickedness.



The only low spots are the bland, made-for-the-masses arrangements of "Fire With Fire" and "Skin Tight." These two songs seem a bit out of place within the confides of an album filled with music that show the band having fun with their sound. Still they're the kind of songs you'd wish were on radio more often.



Night Work is a cocaine-induced night at Studio 54 in its prime. It's writhing pleasure mixed with sweat from physical exertion -- dance related or not. If only all history lessons were this fun.



You Have To Hear: Ana Matronic's hilarious cooing bridge on "Any Which Way.""

True dance record, their most mature to date

vedderoh1 | NJ United States | 06/29/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After a four-year hiatus the Scissor Sisters return with Night Work, a work that is darker, polished and more mature than anything they've done before. Is this enough to put them back on top of the bill and take back the title they once heralded, or is this a page turned to write a new chapter in the band's life?



By now the story of how Night Work was gestated is vox populi: frontman Jake Shears was not wholeheartedly convinced of the recorded material working, got a nay from Elton John, split to Berlin for a few weeks, and there, among carefree creatures of the night, conceived what would be the spark to ignite the new sessions. It all sounds great in paper, but did the notion transfer legibly into music?



The first time they previewed material from Night work was in their twin shows at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC earlier this year. Songs sounded powerful, fun, pop flirting with electro and even some southern rock. After a first listen it is clear they took their time editing, with surprising results in some cases.



The title track opens the experience with an immediately enjoyable song that echoes of Ta-dah! but the fears are put to bed soon with lead single Fire with fire, in which Shears wonders "Is it just me or is everyone hiding out between the lines / what will we be when we come undone / Just a simple meaning of the minds" Sounding more like self doubt statement than a mere verse, it cues in to the heart of the record.



We are given a glimpse of the world he imagined while dancing in Berlin, of "what would have happened if we didn't have that crater (AIDS)" with the infectious Harder you get, which you can well guess what it's about. Skin this cat and Any which way you want are the mandatory Ana Matronic tracks, both in their luscious performance and subsequent mid-chorus rant, proving that more than a mere sidekick voice she is, indeed, the fine bridge between vulgarity and sophistication.



Something like this is a quirky tune that is an unmissable as it is perfectly crafted, while Sex and violence will probably be more exciting to hear in remixed mode. The true gem in here is Invisible light, a long time live favorite here given the treatment it deserved. Ian McKellen provides vocals for the suggestive interlude, which builds it into a dance floor anthem where sailors, whores, old party children and sexual gladiators have waken to enjoy the bacchanal.



Scissor Sisters were once the outrageous quintet that mocked the current estate of pop music, but they fed from and grew out of it to become trendsetters. Now they bet for a non complacent palette that pays off. Night work might be the Sister's most cohesive album to date, both musically and in concept, successfully dressing that darker side with the brightness of glam pop without intending to. Which is not to say this is a bad record, quite the contrary: they step (not too far) apart from the honky tonk and singalongs, and invest more on the sounds derived from those 80's bands that shaped them, and if we count among them Kraftwerk, Clash, Siousxie and Roxy Music this is one hell of an achievement."

Buy this album

Paul Patenaude | Dudley, MA | 08/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is by far their best album. I have to play it morning, noon and night."