Disco drama with the feel of 1976

(Morning Star, Friday 06 October 2006)

ALBUM: Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
(Polydor)

EXPLODING onto the scene in a cloud of glitter and, um, nipples, it's hard to believe that the Scissor Sisters haven't been with us for the last 30 years.

After all, their disco drama is pure Donna Summer and the outfits have their roots firmly in 1976.

But there is more to these flash, brash New Yorkers than harking back to the glory days of disco.

Their Elton John-style ballads and good-time pop songs seem to have captured the imagination of the music-buying public and, possibly most importantly, they have straddled the twin worlds of dinner party and clubbing music, which is to their credit.

As a result, like something that stepped out of Priscilla Queen of the Desert into the real world, the impossibly camp Ta-Dah kicks off with the - somewhat overplayed - "comeback" single I Don't Feel Like Dancing.

In itself, releasing a song that contains the line "I don't feel like dancing when the old Joanna plays" and, furthermore, having the kids kick up their heels in rhythm is a feat indeed.

Elsewhere, in Land of a Thousand Words, the spirit of the '70s is alive and kicking, all soulful piano and winsome lyrics.

Paul McCartney is an astonishing drum-driven freakout with a funk edge and Transistor is a drawn-out jam in the style of a Greek chorus, all vocal overlays and sonic effects.

Melding nauseating cheesy disco with boozy country swagger, music hall-style knees-ups with some occasional rock-outs, the Scissor Sisters are as much a musical surprise as any you'll hear all year.