Scissor Sisters - Night Work

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A primer for staying out very late

Scissor Sisters' 2006 album 'Ta-Dah' sold plenty but was a disappointing follow-up to the sass of their debut. It also showed their extremes as a group: the initially charming 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' soon rivalled Mika's 'Grace Kelly' as most annoying song of the decade, while the melancholy-but-defiant 'The Other Side' was one of the best.

Powered by an Eighties synth energy (guest appearances by Jan Hammer and Harold Faltemeyer always feel a chorus away) and a raunch that alternates between convincing and 'Carry-On', 'Night Work' is a more consistent collection and a primer for staying out very late.

Strut- and sing-alongs abound and with them the belief that the Sisters have saved themselves by rolling up their sleeves to the elbow and capturing the fleeting sense of freedom the dancefloor offers.

'Night Work' is predictable in places, but opportunities for hearing Ian McKellen booming about "sparkling theatres of excess" and "sexual gladiators" in the middle of clubbing tracks don't come along too often - so crazy, it actually works.

Harry Guerin

Tracklisting: Night Work - Whole New Way - Fire with Fire - Any Which Way - Harder You Get - Running Out - Something Like This - Skin This Cat - Skin Tight - Sex and Violence - Night Light - Invisible Light