Scissor Sisters – Magic Hour

Princes and princesses of glam pop Scissor Sisters are back with some flare on their new record Magic Hour. Now with my only real memory of Scissor Sisters being their hit single I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, I was, understandably, skeptical of the quality of this record.

Let me tell you now that this record is a rebirth for the siblings of stationary. Influences of soul musicians and pop princesses are obvious in its syncopated beats and powerful vocal lines. This is the feel good album of the year.

It opens with soul wonder Baby Come Home, which has a distinctly Aloe Blacc-like feel to it with a minimalist verse and a catchy, soulful verse that just makes you want to get up and groove. The classic Scissor Sisters vocal tone is in there too; you know you’re listening to one of their records from the outset of this album.

Another highlight comes in the form of the following track Keep Your Shoes On. A simple synthy dance line leads the track, supported by falsetto vocals. It sounds almost like Architecture in Helsinki and the Pussycat Dolls had a bizarre love child and the product was this song. Please don’t misinterpret said analogy as a negative description – the song is a fantastic party, bopping track.

Lead single from the record Only the Horses is by far the most radio-friendly song on the record, not sounding out of place on a variety of contemporary artists records. No doubt, the stations will take this and run with it as far as they can, auto-tuned vocals, dreamy piano line and Latin beat backing the track make it sure fire to be remixed.

Now the highlight of the record is the next track I plan on discussing. I’m making the call here, now. You heard it here first. Let’s Have A Kiki will be in the top ten of triple j’s hottest 100 this year.

This is the best party song I’ve ever heard in my life. A sixty-second introduction paves the way for one the most fun tracks of the year. Clubs will take this track and repeat it forever and ever as the vocals shout out over and over again: ‘Let’s have a Kiki!’. The samba beat behind the spoken word provokes the listener to dance uncontrollably. According to the sisters: “A kiki is a party for calming all your nerves”. However, after listening to the track an innumerable amount of times this weekend, I’m still completely confused as to exactly what a ‘kiki’ is, all I know is that I want to have one.

The album continues with soulful tracks, similar to the early parts of the record. Best in Me is distinctly reminiscent of MGMT and other electro-pop bands of our time whilst album closer Somewhere is a shameless pop song that effectively closes the record in the disco manner we would expect the band to end on.

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