If it takes another life, I'll wait for you on the other side...

I have to admit, I have something of a vested interest in the Scissor Sister's second album, Ta-Dah, if only because me and Laura have tickets to see them in November. I have to say though, their second album is largely disappointing. Gone is the biting wit of their eponymous debut album, replaced largely with bland 'pop by numbers' efforts that almost leave the group acting as a parody of themselves. There's nothing wrong with leaning heavily on 80s musical influences as long as you get it right, but from where I'm sitting Ta-Dah misses the mark on almost every count, with the current single I Don't Feel Like Dancin' acting as a warning sign for the watered-down cheese fest that follows.

In fairness, things do pick up a little on the second half of the album, culminating in Ta-Dah's saving musical grace - The Other Side, which turns out to be possibly one of the greatest tracks of 2006, and mixing the shoulder-shrugging melancholy you might associate with The Smiths against the kind of catchy pop sensibilities of Duran Duran and the like at their peak. Simply awesome stuff, but not enough to save this rather disappointing album. I can only hope they focus on their debut album in concert...