Jingly guitars, horn stabs, a beat that makes you strut while walking down the street — no, it’s not the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It’s the Scissor Sister’s back trying to buck the sophomore slump. How do they do? Pretty damn well, thank you very much. When they released their debut album it turned into a commercial hit in the UK and a cult hit in the US. It’s a searing blast of raunch, debauchery and warnings of living a hedonistic life that you could, as it happens, dance to. In other words, a very hard act to follow.

The first single from their follow-up, Ta-Dah, is "I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’." Not only does it deal with the Elton John comparisons, but includes John in on the song writing and playing. The same thing for the song "Intermission", which is exactly what it may seem on the surface, but listen to the lyrics and you’ll realize that the Sisters are a bit darker this go around. It also explains why the song sounds like "I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself" from John’s Honky Chateau album.

It’s quite obvious the Sisters love wearing their influences like glitter eye shadow; however, they also aim to surprise. Arguably the best song on the album, "I Can’t Decide," is a Dixieland jazz pop song complete with banjo. Again, it’s the lyrics that truly make the song rise above everything else. In fact, the song may not be about a relationship at all; Jake Shears may have his cross-hairs on fame: "It’s a bitch convincing people to like you/If I stop now call me a quitter/If lies were cats you’d be a litter."

There is no doubt that the Sisters’ lyrical bite is still in place; however, the music itself is a hodgepodge of glam rock, disco, pop, R&B, and 80’s power ballads. One of the more beautiful ballads has Shears emoting palpably for the first time. A truly emotional powerhouse, "Might Tell You Tonight" actually has Jake The Party Boy thinking about settling down with a man who may not be the one of his dreams, but one that he respects and adores. "Life seems so much slower/With your toothbrush by the mirror/Can I make this any clearer?" he sings before the song launches into its moving chorus that includes another banjo.

The rest of the album is filled with the dance songs you’d expect from the Sisters including a song strangely named "Paul McCartney" (complete with a B-52’s style break) which isn’t about the man, but seemingly his music set to a frantic beat. Elton John is on this album. Could they be vying for McCartney to join them on the next? There is no denying that would be an experience worth waiting for.

Still, Ta-Dah has enough of the naughty ("I ain’t got nothing but your seed on my face," for example) to let you know they want to continue to party, but also has a few more serious moments than their debut. Death comes to play a lot in the words, which makes sense as the woman who inspired the song "Mary" from the first album passed away this year. She was a great friend of the band and the loss hit them pretty hard. Not to say they are becoming maudlin; however, the loss gives the band a bit more complexity which garners more respect for the job they are doing and what the Scissor Sisters are becoming — a viable musical force.

UK Chart Update: "I Don’t Feel LIke Dancin’" just logged its third week at #1 on the UK charts and Ta-Dah debuted at #1 on the album chart.