Scissor Sisters - Night Work Review

Posted by David Hayter on 06.29.2010

Despite the chart success of Ta-Dah it feels like the Scissor Sisters have it all to prove as they are set to unleash Night Work on an expectant fanbase.



Scissor Sisters - Night Work

1. "Night Work" 3:08
2. "Whole New Way" 2:53
3. "Fire With Fire" 4:13
4. "Any Which Way" 4:41
5. "Harder You Get" 3:06
6. "Running Out" 3:09
7. "Something Like This" 3:02
8. "Skin This Cat" 2:41
9. "Skin Tight" 3:26
10. "Sex And Violence" 4:14
11. "Night Life" 3:37
12. "Invisible Light" 6:14

2006’s Ta-Dah while far from an abject failure certainly felt like one by the end 2007. Despite spawning a number one hit around the world, it felt too cliché, too vapid, and the Scissor Sisters knew it. The momentum they had built up on their truly brilliant debut album had been squandered, suddenly the Scissor Sisters were old news. So damaging was Ta-Dah and the proceeding four years that it appeared that their detractors had been proved right, as the Sisters appeared more like caricatures and less like the virtuosos they were once heralded as. After all, it’s easy to forget that the Scissor Sisters were shaped equally by Pink Floyd and Elton John, and are as close to Stevie Wonder as they ever were to George Michael. Jake Shears, the bands unmistakeable lead singer became so disillusioned he (reportedly) spent the last three years struggling for inspiration and partying himself into oblivion in Berlin. Thankfully, Jake and the Scissor Sisters have emerged from the dark and dirty European club scene, and are back to reassert their dominance over the world’s pop charts.

The Sisters have already made clear that they are not hiding either their re-found ambition or their recent artistic struggles. “Fire With Fire” the album’s lead single, works as a slice of divine romantic power pop, but at its core it sees Jake Shears directly addressing the bands recent past and offering a definitive mission statement;


“It Used To Seem We Were Number One,
But Now It Sounds So Far Away,
But I Had A Dream We Were Running From,
Some Blazing Arrows Yesterday,
You Said; Fight Fire With Fire,
Through Your Desire, Desire”

It hardly takes a degree in psychology to unravel the track’s subtext. It’s one thing to cast off your recent past and claim your once gain “free to be number one”, but actually pulling it off is another matter entirely. “Fire With Fire”, however, is the perfect starting point for their comeback. It’s direct, it pulls no punches and it is of course utterly irresistible. Had “Fire With Fire” been unleashed just two years ago, it’s frightening to think how huge this track could have been. In 2010 it serves as a welcome reminder of why pop needs the Scissor Sisters. “Fire With Fire” finds itself half way been the dance floor and the festival field. It’s an anthem, with a trademark U2 guitar line running throughout, and a powerhouse lead vocal performance that marries Elton and Mercury, while still remaining true to Shears himself. You wonder if this is what Pop would have sounded like if Bono had had the stones to go all the way.

Monolithic comeback anthems aside, there’s a whole albums worth of delights to explore, and Night Work instantly feels like classic Scissor Sisters. Music in the twenty first century has been driven as much by the reinventions of music’s past, as creativity on the artistic fringe fringe; and the Sisters, like The Strokes before them, fall into the former category. As Night Work once again sees the Sisters mining pop’s past and giving it a fresh 21st first century make over (with a delicious G-A-Y flourish to boot). As we've come to expect it’s the ‘70s that get the bulk of the attention, as the Scissor Sisters, seemingly powered by an unending supply of sexual energy, are intent on partying like disco never died. Hedonism and carnal sin are the order of the day. “Whole New Way” is a Stevie Wonder refit which sees jaunty funk being overcome by meth-laced sexual abandon. Its motown with the romantic sentiment being replace by indiscriminate, dirty, freaky sex; and trust me, that's a good thing.

While “Fire With Fire” stands out as a message to the critics and the fans, it’s the album’s opener and title track “Night Work” that really sets the tone. Jake states with unmistakeable clarity, that he wants to sleep at home all day on the government’s dollar, while by night he wants to be coked up to his eye balls letching at anyone and everyone. He comes across as the ultimate sexual predator and party fiend. You really should hate such amoral remorseless hedonism but, like Jake, your better judgement will soon circum to these glorious diaphanous thrills. After all, if you didn’t run for your life after the parental advisory sticker that is “Night Work”, then you only have yourself to blame as your dragged into a world of non-stop 24/7 debauchery.

The metallic, crunching, Frankie Goes To Hollywood meets The Rocky Horror Show grooves of the “Harder You Get” sees Jake reaching out and leering at the listener as he makes crude advances; “I’ve Got Some Apples, If You Want, Then You Can Grab Them”. It may not but lyrically subtle, but the arrangement more than plugs the artistic void; with a gorgeous string section, a power house guitar solo and some surprisingly witty nods to Kraftwerk. It has the veneer of shameless pop thrills but the fun is built atop considerable artistic intricacy.

It seems the Sisters can take any sound (provided it’s from ‘70s, naturally) and elevate it to hedonistic new heights. “Every Which Way” is a throwaway disco groover that feels light and inessential, but somehow gets more engrossing with each passing listen. Of course, it’s not quite the same without Kylie Minogue guest spot, but its still a damn good time. And, before you ask “Every Which Way” of course refers to each and every way that Jake can screw the life out of you. It also has the added bonus of being the only track where Ana Matronic is really allowed to cut loose. As Ms Matronic offers up a Kim Gordon meets Deborah Harry via Lily Allen spoken word finale, full of sublime punchlines (“I Thought; “I’m Gonna Find That Man, That’s The Right Shade Of Bottled Tan”). Sometimes the sound splicing is staggering. “Running Out” really shouldn’t work; the sound of The Cult, with Talking Heads lyricism delivered by a sex crazed Freddie Mercury. It’s perhaps too indebted, but the Sisters rarely give you a second to contemplate this fact, as they move swiftly and effortless from debauched thrill and the next.

After refitting Cameo, Ana Matronic gets the chance to ride a burbling Kraftwerk groove for all it’s worth on “Night Life”. The groove is as addictive as you’d expect, but it all feels rather understated. It can’t equal the dazzling and disgusting thrills of Jake’s lyrical orgies, nor is it soulful or considered enough to imprint itself upon the listener. It also happens to highlight one of Night Work’s greatest failings; it’s criminal underutilization of Ana Matronic. Perhaps, it’s because I’m straight male, but I always felt Ana Matronic’s juxtaposition of devilish "been there done that" sex weary tales, with S &M, domina, uber dyke posturing, gave the Scissor Sisters’ work a real edge. After all, upon joining the band she promised to open the Scissor Sisters music up to any and every kind of sensual delight. Yet aside from here cameo on “Any Which Way” she does nothing of the sort, and seems content to sit in the background while Jake has his fun. Her absence doesn’t hurt the record in a significant way, but it’s one of those missing ingredients that stop Night Work kicking on to a higher level.

The records other major failing is its lack of variety. Not sonically, as Night Work is richly and diversely arranged, but emotionally. The hedonistic delights of Night Work never end; its sex, drugs and debauchery from the start of “Night Work” to the end of “Invisible Light”. The great ballads and subtle lyricism that proved to be the highlights of their debut (“Mary”, “Laura” & “Return To Oz”) are completely absent. There will be no tears shed to this record, no swaying arms in the air moments, and no intriguing insights into the tragic effect of crystal meth on the world’s gay scene. In fact, the moral underpinning and sense of sorrow running throughout their debut, has been completely abandoned for unscrupulous carnal sin. It’s far from a fatal wound, as nothing will stop this good time; instead it simply means that Night Work is more Saturday Night Fever than Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Night Work is closed out by a flurry of charming quasi-contemporary dance tracks culminating with “Invisible Light”. A track that manages to simultaneously encapsulate everything that has gone before it, while effortlessly transcending those works. Sears actually sounds serious for once, as he delivers big, straight forward Floyd-eske sentiments. Of course this being the Sister Scissors rather than a prog epic building around his vocal, it’s a sweeping glitzy club anthem. It strays close to contemporary dance culture without every circuming to something so pedestrian; and just as it appears this feral, tribal, electronic anthem has reach its zenith Ian McKellen arrives. Yes that Ian McKellen, whose provides a spoken word verse that is delivered with such potency, and such a super serious façade that the ludicrous irony of the piece becomes irresistible. It might not be “Flithy/Gorgeous” but it instantly becomes the second greatest G-A-Y anthem of this century; gay culture's answer to “The Wall”, a quasi-masterwork. It’s the perfect way to conclude a quite superb comeback album; characterize by reckless abandon and glorious sexual deviancy. Night Work may lack the emotional weight of their debut, but it’s more fun, more daring and infinitely more essential than Ta-Dah. Will it take them back to the heady heights of 2004? Who knows, but it’s a hell of a return to form.

The 411: Night Work is a welcome return to form for the Scissor Sisters. As they unleash an album of unscrupulous debauchery that stinks of sticky, dirty, freaky sex. While it may appear conceptually shallow, it's artistically rich. As the Scissor Sisters give a huge number of '70s sounds a contemporary refit. The Talking Heads, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Kraftwerk, Cameo, The Cult, Pink Floyd, Rick Astley, The Beegees, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and many more are all given the Scissor Sisters' treatment, sometimes all at once. The end product is a varied and engaging thrill ride of shameless camp pop thrills. Night Work lacks the emotional resonance, and song writing power of their début, but in "Invisible Light" they've crafted a sublime moment that easily rivals their most enduring work.It may fall short of greatness, but Night Work marks the triumphant return to form of one of pop's leading lights.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]