So with Scissor Sisters having taken a proper amount of time away to work on their upcoming Night Work album, anticipation is high among fans. With snippets having been leaked for first single Fire With Fire produced by the in-demand Stuart Price, we have been given a promise of a return to form. But let me tell you, nothing will ever top the band’s debut self-titled disc. It was fun, emotional, invigorating, epic. Although I’m hard pressed to criticize Fire With Fire as clearly it is a very pleasant track to listen to, it simply lacks the punch and brand of humour the band has created for itself. Are Scissor Sisters now taking themselves a little too seriously? My answer would be a definitive “yes”. This is an issue the band struggles with and upon speaking to lone female member Ana Matronic a few years back in Toronto at their Lee’s Palace show in 2004, she indicated to me that the band is very conscious of the dangers of being labelled as a “gay group” having been pressured by their label to edit tracks like Filthy Gorgeous to fit a wider audience.
Listen to Fire With Fire, to be released June 20, 2010, in full below (audio content owned by Universal Music):
(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)
Here's my take...you collaborate with a producer like Stuart Price, and you might as well add him to the band's lineup for a short period of time. I hope people wouldn't have expected "Comfortably Numb 2" out of that matchup. I love both tracks that have been released so far, and I think they've done a great job of attempting to counter the effects of the sophomore slump. "Fire with Fire" is going to sound AMAZING live.
ReplyDeleteI agree... Stuart Price is the type of producer whose influence can be very overwhelmingly heard in the product. I am all for groups and artists developing and progressing but I just feel like I've lost a sense of who they are even on these great new songs. I support them fully regardless! They are definitely one of the most important acts to come out of the 2000s.
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