Scissor Sisters Move Forward - Through The Past

The road to Night Work, the follow up to Scissor Sisters’ 2006 sophomore release Ta-Dah!, was a long and winding one that dragged the group through the departure of drummer Paddy Boom, almost 18 months lost on a record that was ultimately scrapped and, eventually, near breakup. But in the end they discovered it was exactly the path they needed to follow to finally find themselves.

The Scissors recorded Night Work, due out June 29 in the U.S., in London, the Bahamas and their hometown of New York City using something they’d never felt the need for before – an outside producer – in the form of Stuart Price (Madonna, The Killers).

Earlier this month, frontman Jake Shears told the BBC the band’s first attempt at a new album ended up feeling completely alien.

“In my heart I knew it wasn’t right,” the singer explained. “I didn’t really know what it was trying to say. It left me a little bit cold.”

In fact, in a subsequent interview, Shears admitted it nearly killed the group.

“If it wasn’t something we could fully get behind and believe in, I think the band was going to be over,” he revealed to London’s Daily Record.

Luckily for Scissor Sisters fans, the band’s members (Shears, Ana Matronic, Babydaddy and Del Marquis) decided to take a break. The singer spent some time exploring some of the more, um, interesting places in Europe – focusing on Germany in particular.

It was in dark, smoky clubs filled with pounding Euro-disco and Techno blaring from enormous speakers that he found the inspiration for Night Work– the club scene of the ’70s and ’80s.

“So much was progressive and being pushed and something was on fire,” the singer said about the period. “And then the party stopped in a way that couldn’t have been more dramatic.

“A whole generation was wiped out. Where was Sylvester, Frankie, all that heading? What if music hadn’t stopped dead in its tracks? What if you could pick up where that left off?”

Advance praise for Night Work has been high, with Spin.com calling it “more fuel for the dance floor” and Rolling Stone bestowing the album’s finale, “Invisible Light,” with three-and-a-half stars and offering “Welcome back to the future, Sisters!”

Scissor Sisters will debut songs from Work, including “Invisible Light” and lead single “Fire With Fire,’ live on June 26 at the Glastonbury Festival, as well as on July 1 at the iTunes Festival at London’s Roundhouse.

Additional U.K. dates and a full U.S. itinerary are expected in the coming weeks.

You can preview “Invisible Light” and “Fire With Fire” below.