Customer Reviews

Scissor Sisters

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One of 2004's greatest success stories, especially in Britain, is the rise and rise of New York camp-glam band the Scissor Sisters. With their flamboyant style and traditional gay disco-flare, they have dominated the charts with their self-titled debut album which has been No.1 for weeks and has gone multi-platinum in months. This is mainly due to the singles released from the album and their unique style, along with a lot of hype from some of the top critics. The band comprises of five members, all about except two are gay and living life and loving it, which this debut album definitely shows!

The members are Paddy Boom, Babydaddy, Ana Matronic, Del Marquis and the excellent lead singer Jake Shears. Ana Matronic is the only female in the band and believes she is half-gay because her dad was, or something like that! I'm not sure what she's talking about, because she's a bit crazy like the rest of the band - but this is exactly what makes them so brilliant! I didn't initially like the Scissor Sisters, and I went through a phase of disliking them a lot, and then I heard their third single and instantly loved them!

The album opens with that third single which is "Laura." I first heard this song on a music channel and the video blew me away. It was new and exciting and original, and I loved it. The song has a dramatic piano intro and some awesome lyrics. Jake's vocals are very dramatic and work well with the song. This is the most popular song from the album to date and is one of 2004's best songs! "Take Your Mama" was the second single to be taken from the album. It's a mid-tempo number and a bit more chilled than the last song and has a catchy guitar all the way through. The vocals are high-pitched all the way through the song, especially in the verses. The video is incredibly gay and compliments the song's topic of taking your mama out all night, and getting her drunk on some cheap champagne! "Comfortably Numb" was the first single to be released from the album in late 2003 and instantly became a Top 10 UK smash hit. It's a cover of the Pink Floyd classic, but the dance beat is brilliant - it's both catchy, spooky and ambiguous.

"Mary" is up next and in my opinion should be the fourth single, because it really is a beautiful and breathtaking ballad. It has an old, traditional style to it with a sad piano. Jake's vocals are reduced from a high-pitched wail to a melancholy tone that is surprising to say the least. The sigh after each chorus is the highlight. "Lovers In The Backseat" has perhaps the best intro of all the songs on the album because it's so weird. You can't really describe it, but it's bouncy and shiny and just gets the song into swing. Jake's vocals are great and very dramatic and the lyrics are really sexy. "T**s On The Radio" was one of my favourites when I first bought this album, but it isn't so much anymore. It's still a great song, however, with an awesome chorus that just swings along. Ana Matronic has a big part in this song, too. "Filthy/Gorgeous" opens with a wicked computerised voice (I think it's Ana's) that just screams, "Oh yes! Filthy!...Gorgeous!" This is an up-tempo electronica song which has Jake's high-pitched vocals and a rocky chorus which echoes the song's title over and over in the background. "Music Is The Victim" is an average song, but it's not really one of my favourites on the album. It's a bit too rocky for my liking and doesn't really stand out amongst the other songs. However, it's still a good song with a catchy beat.

"Better Luck" picks up the album's pace and is similar to Laura, the album's first song, with its beat. The lyrics are funny and the song has a generally light-hearted humour that is typical of the band. "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" is without a doubt the best song on the album. This song was seen by the critics as the album's masterpiece, and it certainly is - it's an epic ride of superb melancholy sadness. It kind of reminds me of a Queen song but it has a rather catchy electronic beat that's muffled in the background. The lyrics are brilliant and the chorus is superb - very catchy yet sad with it at the same time. "Return To Oz" is an extremely sad song with some beautiful lyrics and really shocked me when I first heard it because it's so sad. It shocked me because one minute the Scissor Sisters are singing about merrily taking their mama out, or about lovers in a backseat, and then the next they can bring down your happiness and totally make you think and feel.

OVERALL GRADE: 9/10

After this song, there's a funny track in which Ana Matronic says, "Meow. This is Ana Matronic..." and tells us that there's special UK bonus tracks coming up and will start when we hear a certain sound - it's some people screaming in carnage and mayhem! The two songs that follow are "The Skins" and "Get It Get It." Both songs are good, but not quite up to the standard of the rest of the album - so you can see why they were bonus tracks! All in all, this is a very superb and vivid debut from one of 2004's most interesting and exciting bands. I urge anyone to check them out because they're going places and it'll be interesting to see what their second album holds in store for us!

what a very pleasant suprise, when i first heard of Scissor Sisters, i thought they were only one of those temporary hyped bands everyone's talking about, not for the music, but ... simply for the hype..

i was wrong.

these guys are freaks, and they're awesome. in fact, their music is so versatile, with so many diferent sources, i dont know in what category i would put this album, when i first listened to their self titled debut, i immediatly knew this was unlike anything i heard, totally diferent from any other band, they're messing with us actually, going from one genre to another, sometimes with a serious tone and lyrics, and others with cheesy and funny lyrics "'Koz there is no [such] on the radio/i'll give you half a finger for a one man show...". You get beautiful piano ballads (take your mama out), a very suprising "bee gees" sound , guitar riffs, dance music, and a lot of pseudo genres, all in one beautifully packed album. Their Pink floyd cover "comfortably numb" is simply exquisite, it had me jump out of my seat, i just wanted to dance!!!

this album gets 5 (very well deserved) stars, for originality, and -whether you like it or not- for their "avant garde" accomplishment.

Now, I'll admit that my taste in music can be a bit eclectic. Not that I'm anti-pop, mind you, but I do like folks to know where the bias of the reviewer lies.

Picked these songs up via Napster, and have loved them. Fun songs, with memorable lyrics and licks. Very refreshing for those of us who are always looking for something new. Not 5/5, as very few albums are "perfect". But, a very solid 4/5.

The music really grooves. Kinda throwback to the 70's glam era, but definately with a modern edge. A good mix of beats (some slow and some fast), and you can tell the band has lots of different leads on vocals--many different styles.

Pick up an account on Napster and listen to them for a little bit before picking up the album. If you look for the mix of music I do, you'll like this.

Sure it's fluff, but this album grows on you. It's candy-coated pop, but the lyrics are great. And the amazing thing is...they sound better LIVE than on the CD--they're a real rock-pop band like the B-52s or Roxy Music. The guitarists and drummer are TIGHT. Comfortably Numb is cute, yeah, but other songs like Is this the Return to Oz? and Filthy Gorgeous really stand out. The single Laura is just a dumb record company pick, for easy radio play. It's their live performances and genuine-ness that will see this group thru anything they want to do. Plus they're just a bunch of samrt-ass down-to-earth New York slut-bunnies, you gotta love that.

Went to their concert at Double Doors in Chicago last Friday night. This band blew me away, I am more into big dance clubs and DJ's so attending this gig was to keep my girlfriend happy. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST GIG I EVER ATTENDED. It was fantastic, the tunes were fantastic, the band were fantastic. I really hope they play Homelands/Radio 1 gigs back in UK this summer. You thought the band scene kicked off last summer with the Strokes etc... wait till you hear this lot TRANFCUKNTASTIC !!!

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I picked this CD from the racks. Even with all the auspicious reviews that precede it, whenever you hear the word "disco" and "gay" together, you kind of expect it to be a waste of money and time, unless you are at the club. But fortunately this is not the case. It is true that after a few minutes the Sisters' debut sounds like good old Elton with some brushes of Pink Floyd, but overall it is a great party we are invited to enjoy. The obvious standout songs are "Comfortably numb", "Filthy/gorgeous" and the first single "Laura". On a second listen, "Music is the victim", "Better luck" and "Take your mama out" surface as great tracks worth of attention, and hopefully candidates to be future singles. If you approach the Scissor Sisters hoping to discover the next big thing, you may as well turn around and dig in your imagination. But as you do that, you may also run into a precious gift musicians have given to us, and that is called JOY. Gay never sounded happier than this. Finally a record to file under too-good-to-be-true.

I'm an american and when I first heard "take your mama," I was hooked. They aren't very big here, so I had to go out of my way to get every single track that wasn't released on the US CD. I dragged my sister to one of their concerts, and got her hooked on them too. I worship the ground they walk on, and I HIGHLY recommend this CD. There aren't words to describe how much I love their music.

Reading some of these reviews makes me sad to note that original music thats electronically tinged never seems to do well in America...Nevertheless this album has enough rock and funk sounding influences that at least people give it a chance.

Anyways, I found the CD very original...I think anyone that likes electroclash or electrohouse as well as rock or pop will love it. Anyone who is looking for just a purely rock/funk sounding record will hate it. This isn't supposed to sound exactly like the artists that influenced them! For the rest of people who have more open minds, chances are you'll love it. The Pink Floyd cover is one of the most original covers I've ever heard and most of the other songs are great as well.

Think 70's Elton John, think 70's David Bowie, think rock, think pop, think electronica, think dance, think 'Hedwig and The Angry Inch' (this is SO like it I had to check the credits for writing credits) but ultimately think FUN!!

A really enjoyable album, which has more substance than I expected it to (I thought they were a novelty group) mainly up-tempo, with a couple of strong ballads.
This UK edition comes with 2 strong bonus tracks - which complement the cd perfectly.

My personal favourite tracks are Laura, Take Your Mama Out, Filthy/Gorgeous, and Return To Oz.

Five folks from New York called Scissor Sisters would release their debut album and make global history. Already a 10x platinum seller in the UK, Scissor Sisters are adored all over the world. Jake Shears is a genius and he writes awesome songs. You have to buy this CD to believe the experience!