Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour (Polydor)

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Robin Gibb may have gone to the great dancefloor in the sky, but his spirit will live on as long as Scissor Sisters have an album to punt – witness those high-pitched harmonies on Inevitable, track three on Magic Hour.

Custom byline text:

Alan Morrison

And that's the thing about Scissor Sisters: although they want to crack the charts in the present, they're always most comfortable with one stilettoed toe in the past.

Consequently, Magic Hour opens on safe ground with the Old Eltonian piano vamp/Studio 54 disco stomp of Baby Come Home, before the New Yorkers get their party re-started by inviting a few names-to-drop round to their gaff. Azealia Banks brings an edge to the rap on Shady Love (before it collapses into a dad's cardigan of a chorus) while Calvin Harris's production on Only The Horses is patently evident in the hard but boringly repetitive metronome beat and cheesy Ibiza synth fanfares.

As Jake Shears ponders promiscuity on Year Of Living Dangerously, there's a hint of a more emotionally vulnerable band to be explored beneath the party sheen but, as a whole, the album's masterclass in production is let down by blunt hooks and a serious lack of tunes.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour (Polydor)

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED