The Scissor Sisters' debut ought to bear the following warning sticker: "May induce strutting." These flamboyant New Yorkers have absorbed 30 years of glittery pop trash, creating an irresistible sound that all but commands you to hit the streets like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Nowhere is this more evident than on their radical reworking of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," which comes off like a cosmic clash between the Bee Gees and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. It shouldn't work, but it does. Changing musical styles as often as their wardrobe, Scissor Sisters also dish up glam rock à la Elton John ("Take Your Mama Out," "Music Is the Victim,"), stomping electroclash ("Filthy Gorgeous," "It Can't Come Quickly Enough"), and funk ("Better Luck Next Time," "Laura."). It's not all fun and games, though. On many songs, frontman Jake Shears paints a vivid picture of how New York's gay and club culture is being marginalized by stricter city laws and ravaged by crystal meth addiction. It's a corker of a debut that has already been embraced in England, where it landed at the top of the pop album charts. Conquering the U.S., where camp and fabulousness are a harder sell, may be a bit tougher. Just ask the Darkness. But with songs as infectious as these, it's only a matter of time. The only thing Scissor Sisters should really be worried about is how they'll ever follow a knockout entrance such as this.
Condition: NEW.
TRACK LISTING
1 Laura 3:36
2 Take Your Mama 4:31
3 Comfortably Numb 4:25
4 Mary 4:41
5 Lovers in the Backseat 3:17
6 Tits on the Radio 3:14
7 Filthy Gorgeous 3:47
8 Music Is the Victim 2:57
9 Better Luck 3:08
10 It Can't Come Quickly Enough 4:39
11 Return to Oz 4:40
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