Twisted Sisters revel in, yeah, that's right -- disco

For those unfamiliar with the Scissor Sisters, let's make something clear: If you cannot stomach disco, you should quit reading here. In both Ta Dah and their self-titled debut, the Scissor Sisters vigorously reject disco's death -- as if they're avenging the July 12, 1979 mass-destruction of disco albums at Chicago's Comiskey Park. They aren't just influenced by disco -- they produce hyper-disco; the disco-iest disco on the market, shamelessly geared toward butt-shaking. So, if you think "disco sucks," just assume this album's an "F".\nStill here? Got a pair of platform boots from the thrift store? Busy gluing rhinestones to a jean jacket with a Bedazzler? Got Barry Gibb tied up in your basement, you say? Okay, then you'll like the Scissor Sisters -- although I'd recommend their debut over this one.\nThat advice should come as no surprise to those familiar with the first album -- after all, how could they top their dance-tastic cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb?" And yet, while Ta Dah is a reasonably good follow-up, it falls short on other counts as well.\nFor starters, its first song is also its best. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" -- co-written by Elton John, and featuring the rocketman himself on piano -- is an absolute floor-burner. The hooks are deadly, the chorus irresistible -- singer Jake Shears' protests against dancin,' when combined with a beat that demands it, produces a dizzy cognitive dissonance. If wedding DJs aren't playing it someday, then I weep for the world. Unfortunately, nothing else on the album quite compares.\nThen there's the fact that while the instrumental side generally screams "party," the lyrics sometimes are surprisingly grim. Plenty of great dance music doesn't exactly beam with sunny happiness -- Gang of Four, Hot Hot Heat, Primal Scream's "XTRMNTR," etc. Yet, in aiming for edgy, the Scissor Sisters hit creepy instead -- in particular, "I Can't Decide" (chorus: "I can't decide/Whether you should live or die"), with its sadistic murder fantasies, could well be on Hannibal Lecter's iPod. This works well for The Cramps, but kind of kills the mood here.\nFinally, though, there's the simple fact that in crafting a more sophisticated sound, Ta Dah loses something of the debut's intensity. Track after track on Scissor Sisters threatened to drag you onto the dancefloor -- Ta Dah is slightly more hesitant, dithering while some bigger, better-looking disco album asks you to dance, and you two end up making hot animal love in the backseat of its car. Damn you for ruining my senior prom!\n... Er, uh, so anyway -- buy it if you like disco.