'Look good in cheap clothes' reviewed

A great review of the new album courtesy of Mike at Cambridge Music Reviews! Here's his thoughts in full...

"This excellent third full-length LP from Cambridge four-piece The Scissors pushes their sound into new territory musically and features words and ideas that chime with modern day concerns…
1. Plug Me In Kicking off with a chord from the soundtrack of a western, the sinister guitar of the verses is balanced by the organ-drenched chorus and it all ends very abruptly.
2. Parking Cars More of a rocker, driven by a pulsing bass riff. Not sure how the title line fits in but it is certainly catchy ‘…parking cars…you got to do it right…’ 3. Death Engineer A moody song about built-in obsolescence, suggesting that it is the responsibility of the title character. Around this lyrical resignation a Doors-sounding electric piano and rolling cymbals ominously threaten.
4. Look Good In Cheap Clothes A surreal monologue, spoken by frontman Stewart Harris as the band play freely with the structures and sonic textures. This is a companion to the disturbing artwork of the album front cover (which itself brings to mind the notorious Beatles ‘Yesterday And Today’ sleeve?)
5. I Dream In X-Ray Vision In case you thought the Scissors of old had disappeared this impressive track is a pounding reminder of their trademark sound, with unrelenting unified riff, dissonant guitar and even the theremin gets a look-in. The lyric of course has enough ambiguity and imagery to satisfy the diehard fan.
6. Edgelands Picking up the ‘edge of the world’ theme from the end of the previous song, this loose psychedelic americana is echoing and atmospheric, driven by a roving guitar and accordion.
7. When Is A Boy Not A Boy? A cinematic, sweeping track; a guitar solos plaintively over exciting drumming weaving in with a strong vocal performance.
8. Ufotopia This mid-tempo song is the longest on the album and features a subtly uplifting band sound with the questioning and resigned reflections from the narrator. A guest saxophone solo steals the show at the end.
BONUS TRACKS9. Glossy Magazines (EP ‘b’-side) This noisy staple of their live set is given a more introspective feel here, piling on the paranoia as the music moves in all sorts of unpredictable directions.
10. Electric Line Terminus (EP ‘b’-side) Another previous release and storming live track, this again has a Doors feel, a sort of doom-laden cataclysm of blues-based garage rock."

Strawberry Fair 2018 review

Pic by Adrian

Great review from Strawberry Fair by Cambridge Music Reviews... 
'Some years the event can be slow to get going but this time the weather brought out a substantial crowd early on, including an appreciative audience for The Scissors opening the Rebel Arts Stage at midday. After a decade at the forefront of the Cambridge scene they can still strike a pose and rip it up with the best of them, aided by a selection of their own fastest and loudest songs, including I thought an extra turning up of the blazing sound system to a volume beyond 11 halfway through the set. Having seen them recently in the confines of the Cornerhouse venue, their rich and hypnotic swirling sound easily steps up to an outdoor show.'

Read the full article

'Haunted Mirror' album launch reviewed in Cambridge Music Reviews

Big thanks to everyone who made Saturday's album launch such a great night! Mike Wright posted a lovely review in Cambridge Music Reviews, reproduced in full here:

"After ten years on the Cambridge music scene The Scissors release a new album, the grammatically challenging ‘The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror’.
The four-piece promise ‘carnival freakshow organ, primitive synths, and rock’n’roll guitar powered psychpunkpop.’ and much of this manifesto is to be heard in show starter ‘Come With Me’, the opening track on the LP. In the week that Keith Emerson of ELP became the latest rocker to die in 2016, it was good to be reminded of the great Hammond organ sound as it pushed its way into the chorus of this punchy bass-driven song.
‘No Go The Lowdown’ is a rocker with a cryptic lyric and the clever effect of all instruments and voice sharing the hook line. We had a brief acoustic interlude featuring antique accordion and acoustic guitar for ‘Attack Of The Phantom Teardrops’ then ‘Phone Calls From The Dead’ and final track ‘Your House Has Ghosts’ are back to noisy pop-rock. Best of all is the slow-burner blues of ‘Why Don’t You Cry’, with theremin textures (always fascinating to watch), guitar fireworks and the vocals from Stewart Harris making the most of the straight to the heart melody.
It was a good advert for the album (although I would have liked to hear the keyboard rushes and emotional turmoil hidden behind the title of of ‘Don’t Hate Me Just Because I’m Yours’).
Their free lyric sheet proclaimed it was ‘a phantasmagorical entertainment to thrill and beguile the senses…’, they certainly proved again that they are one of the best live bands in Cambridge."

Pic by Jay

Pic by Jay

 

What to expect from the new Scissors album?

Here's a lovely piece on our forthcoming album from Bob's Aural Delights!

'The eleven track set grabs the attention from the get go with a thumping bass and drum combination, surging Hammond and searing guitars and excellent call and response vocals. “Come With Me” is a great opener, followed by the exceedingly catchy “No go the lowdown” which echoes classic british pop-rock with a tinge of urban blues and a smattering of soul in the vocals, and a killer hook.  This band is all about textures and layers and the visceral guitar tones of “Don’t Hate Just Because I’m Yours” introduce another memorable melody, which promises to be a real crowd pleaser with it’s more-ish chorus. The band keep the songs short and to the point, perfect little nuggets of modern music. After the up tempo start matters slow down for the more restrained “All These Things” which is notable for Simon Powell’s sonic explorations and busy drums from Wallace.  The punky motorik “I’m Not The Real Me” perhaps sums up the unique qualities of the band, conjuring a maelstrom of different sounds into a melange of psychedelic pop. The album title track is a tight little tune with a ska feel, great organ sounds, and tasty pop elements and a tidy guitar solo. “Phones Calls from the Dead” has another killer guitar hook, pumping bass and great changes echoing Zappa at his most playful.  Gritty picked guitar opens the blues drenched “Why Don’t You Cry” which comes across like the mutant offspring of “House of the Rising Sun”, nice soloing from Lefever, combined with some great feedback control make this the stand out track for the guitarist. “Sjhake” – I should have asked them what the added “J” was for, but I forgot, is a tasty portion of blue-eyed soul-rock.”Come With Me” reprises in a jam-like free improv way before morphing back into the main song. The album closes with ambient sounds and the measured “Attack Of The Phantom Teardrops” which takes a deep emotional breath after a such a busy and impressive selection.

A highly recommended second album release from a great band.'

Bouquet of Dead Crows album launch a triumphant night!

Big thanks to everyone who made Friday night such a great time! We supported Bouquet of Dead Crows for their album launch, alongside Gavin Chappell-Bates and Cherry White.
Cambridge Music Reviews were there to review the whole evening, and had these nice words to say about our set:

'An exuberant performance from Cambridge stalwarts The Scissors impressed the growing audience, their sharp pop songs a riot of colourful Hammond organ flavoured keyboards, edgy guitar, crescendos of drums and punching bass, with some interesting lyrical twists. Hopefully a new CD is due soon, to include the dark blues of ‘Why Don’t You Cry?’ currently one of the standout songs in their live set.'

Read the full review for more about the whole evening! We had a fantastic time playing to a great crowd alongside awesome acts. What more can one ask for?

(pic by Jude Stephens)

Portland Arms, 5 July review

We got the glo-sticks out again for Saturday's Portland gig with Cosy Cosy! David Bridge was there, and posted this review on his site.

'...take a slice of Clash, mix in some apocalyptic circus-sideshow keyboards + whack in some lyrics full of nostalgia & dread for good measure... The set was balanced well, building it up before tearing it down with the anthemic "Lucy For London" and "Gone". All in all an enjoyable outing, I thoroughly recommend checking The Scissors out if they're in your area.'

Cheers David!

Scissors at the Soul Tree, supporting Make Model

Bloody good fun, despite a couple of technical hitches (Toby yanked his guitar lead out of the amp in a moment of sheer exuberance. Got it back in again, noise happily restored)...

Enjoyed the other bands muchly also - Frank Hamilton's wry observational songwriting; The Corrections strange art-pop take on stuff (their closer 'OCD' kicks ass); and Make Model proved great live, even better then their studio tracks promised.

Talking to Lewis (MM's guitar/vox), was disappointed to learn that their name is not in fact taken from the instructions on an old Airfix kit, but is actually a comment on society's obsession with technology, inbuilt obsolescence, and those toy cars you get at garages in big multipacks (I might have made that last one up.)

Barfly gig, supporting Glasvegas

Scissors in action at Cambridge Barfly...

Tim (www.nowitson.co.uk) reviewed us, "first up the local band, The Scissors. In front of a reasonable crowd they seemed a little overawed by the opportunity to play their brand of alternative pop, their sound augmented by an organ to good effect. They play a handful of self-penned songs and as their confidence on stage grows, they show enough promise to keep an eye open for them on the Cambridge circuit."

...which was nice. Overawed? Maybe a little, it was a hungry old beast of a crowd! We enjoyed it though!