Magic Hour – Scissor Sisters

The Scissor Sisters have spent the better part of a decade chasing the magic of their near-perfect 2004 debut album, with varying degrees of success.

From its title down, 2006’s Ta-Dah! ventured too far into jazz hands campery, and while 2010’s Night Work was outstanding, the Stuart Price disco sheen (not to mention the taut male buns on the cover) seemed to signify the group had retreated back to the gay clubs that birthed them, content to eschew mainstream success.

Now, on Magic Hour (out May 28 through Universal), they seem to have struck an ideal balance between their different sounds.

There’s anthemic, life-affirming dance (stunning first single Only The Horses, in which producer Calvin Harris rewrites We Found Love for the umpteenth time with sexy results), moody ballads (The Year of Living Dangerously, a perfect showcase for frontman Jake Shears’ oft-overlooked voice) and, of course, madcap NY faggotry (Let’s Have A Kiki, an impromptu house party set to music and an excuse for the incomparable Ana Matronic to stretch her wings).

It doesn’t all work — the jaunty Latin rhythms of San Luis Obispo are frankly nauseating, and not even hot guest singer Azealia Banks can make up for ‘buzz single’ Shady Love’s lack of a chorus — but this is an admirably diverse effort from the Scissor Sisters. Rarely has covering all bases sounded so fun.