Magic Hour

(Taken from my blog Junk in a Cup @ [...])

What can I say about the Scissor Sisters' fourth effort Magic Hour? At first listen I felt a bit confused because the album plays like a mixtape instead of an official release. It seems totally out of place in the catalogue of their work. After the second listen, though, I had that slight head bob and shoulder action I get when I'm warming up to something. By the third or fourth time around I was in full dance mode with hands in the air and all.

With that said, don't expect a cohesive album like the previous club friendly Night Work. Instead expect an album with less cohesion but that is still a solid body of work. Because it plays like a mixtape, you will find yourself skipping around. Let's start with the unbearable "The Secret Life of Letters". Although it's a ballad at the end of the album, and you sometimes want to wind down after partying on an otherwise danceable album, this song just flat out puts you to sleep. What makes it even worse is that the meaning of this song is almost incomprehensible. Next is the abysmal "San Luis Obispo". This song just has no personality what so ever, so there's no need to discuss it. Yes it's that bad.

Besides a couple of downers, Magic Hour has some very delightful uppers that will have you pressing rewind over and over again. The opening track "Baby Come Home", which has a background vocal and piano feature by John Legend, is very addictive and is almost impossible to not sing along to. The infectious "Shady Love" and "Keep Your Shoes On" are guaranteed party starters, with the former showcasing Jake Shears' pop rap abilities. The ballads "Only the Horses" and "Somewhere" have that sense of epicness that is only worthy of being played live in stadiums.

Overall Magic Hour is a great release. Even though it feels out of place in their catalogue, it works to their advantage. Who wants an album to sound that the previous three bodies of work. This album proves that the Scissor Sisters have staying power and can make great club songs as well as great ballads while mixing many genres and musical eras together.

Scissor Sister's have released their fourth album. It's Magic Hour, which the title of the album reminds me of the title of "ta-dah" their second album. After The Sisters released Night Work, their best album and best kept secret,releasing singles that did not represent the album very well kind of sank their UK market which their biggest fans lived. After the music media ignored one of the best albums of all time, personally believe Scissor Sisters figure they should try to seem a little more modern or pop, where as the last album was purely from a early 1980's club vibe that had a continual theme. This album is all over the place Which Jake Shears, the lead singer, has stated. The album isn't bad but there are songs that really miss the mark. Ironically, in 2010 Scissor Sisters stated they shelved an album for the reason that it was all over the place.

The beginning of the album is pretty good. The album highlights are Baby Come Home, Inevitable, and Let's Have a Kiki. Baby comes home and Inevitable are purely Scissor sisters fashion. Let's have a Kiki, reminds me of Maxi singles from the late 80's. Great beat and pretty funny. Ana does a great job on this song. Some other songs that are great but on a lesser extent are "keep Your Shoes on", "Year of living Dangerously", "Only the Horses", "Shady Love","San Luis Obispo", and "Somewhere" which feels like a Night Work song. The misses are three in a row which really hurts the flow of the album, starting with free-style "Self Control" then very pop radio candy that will not test well with test of time with "best in Me', and then followed by a ballad that comes off flat "Secret Life of letters." This seriously hurt the album in my mind. If they cut those songs and added "F*** Yeah", remix version, after Shady Love and recorded another song or two that was true to their style the album would have been better.

Scissor Sisters almost had a theme going with late 1980s with Let's have a kiki, year of living dangerously, and freestyle-eque "self control". But the other songs are totally not late 80's. The other theme was modern pop. Scissor Sisters tried UK pop with Only the horses, and USA pop with "Shady Love". The songs are both very different, but both popular music, although different, in both of these countries USA & UK. As a results, you get a Magic Hour grab bag. Pretty good album but it's all over the place and there are some songs that should have been cut off of the drawing table or a b-side.

The Scissor Sisters have always made my feet happy and their newest album is no exception to the rule. Though their debut album and Ta-Dah remain my favorites, Magic Hour is very quickly growing on me, with "Keep Your Shoes" every bit as infectious and dangerously danceable as "Take Your Mama," "Music is The Victim" and "Filthy Gorgeous" off their first album.

Always paying their respects to those who came before them (mainly Elton John, George Michael, Queen and Abba) Scissor Sisters never fail to inject freshness into every one of their tracks. You can't help but smile at "Keep Your Shoes" (I know I already said how good it is, but it is REALLY, REALLY good!) and "Let's Have A Kiki" (oh, boy, that song sure is fun, like Miami Sound Machine for the 21st century, on speed, tongue in cheek!)

Another winner, "Baby Come Home," reminds me the most of the magic from their unforgettable debut. I can't complain about a single song on here (it's Scissor Sisters, after all) but the ones that stand out for me the most are the ones my feet can't say no to...not just the ones already mentioned, but also "Best In Me" and "Somewhere."