Night Work Polydor****

Bringing in an outside producer for the first time has given Scissor Sisters an extra dimension: there's a burnished feel to their third album (out next Friday), which, while not possessing the immediate disco-pop thrill of their gazillion-selling debut, is a cohesive and co-ordinated affair. New York's club scene at its most vibrant (circa the mid-1980s) is the musical backdrop here, and Scissor Sisters succeed in nailing down a pristine MTV electro-pop sound while pushing a few extra buttons. The standout single, Fire With Fire, is a reminder of just how accomplished they are at merging piano ballad with glitterball sensibility. They sound like The Skids at Studio 54 on

Running Out

, and they get all Krautrock sinister on the weird

Harder You Get.

It's a grown-up album that sees Scissor Sisters stretching and bending their sound - even if it means they won't carry all their fan base with them. See scissorsisters.com

Download tracks: Fire With Fire, Running Out