'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."

Look good, look cheap! New album on 7 December

Nearly there! Our new album 'Look good in cheap clothes' is out on 7 December on German Shepherd Records; with a launch party on 6 December at the Cornerhouse, Cambridge (FREE ENTRY)! CDs will be available on the night!

Says Bob at German Shepherd...
"Cambridge’s highly regarded band The Scissors return with a brand new album replete with their signature swirling keyboard-fuelled psych-pop, horrorshow freakbeat guitars and new wave post-punk basslines. Titled “Look Good In Cheap Clothes” the 7th December release shows a real development from its popular predecessor “Haunted Mirror”. With a dazzling mix of garage punk, otherworldly pop, and some new explorations the band demonstrate a significant shift in their sound whilst retaining the core of their alternative take on music."

Look out! Update from Scissor HQ, gigs and recording

Look out! There's lots going on at Scissors HQ right now... work continues apace on a new Scissors mini-album (shaping up to be an eight-song collection), which should be out hopefully towards the end of 2018. And gigs coming up! We're thrilled to be back at Strawberry Fair on 2 June (12pm, Rebel Arts Stage), and at Knackfest, Karma Farm in Isleham Fen on 30 June. Also just confirmed is a REALLY exciting gig with a great band in mid July that we'll tell you about shortly! So keep 'em peeled!

'Malawi' charity album out!

German Shepherd Records' new charity album, fighting famine in Malawi, is out now (and features a brand new track from us)!

Here's more about it...

'Malawi is in a state of emergency and facing its worst food crisis in many years. Parents are unable to feed their children and millions are going hungry.

A horrible combination of floods and drought throughout Southern Africa has devastated crops, leaving many families on the brink of starvation. It’s only set to get worse over the coming months. During this time of crisis a daily meal is a vital lifeline for vulnerable children in desperate need of nourishment.

In April, the President of Malawi declared a state of national disaster. 6.5 million people are facing chronic hunger. Severe droughts have left the country short of one million tonnes of maize needed to feed its people in the months ahead. The government of Malawi estimates that more than eight million people – half the country’s population – could need food aid by the end of 2016.

£12.20 is all it costs for the charity Mary's Meals to feed a child for a whole school year. We are asking you to donate a minimum of £3 for this album which will include music we have previously released as well as brand new tracks - all money raised after Bandcamp and Paypal fees will be then sent via Mary's Meals to Malawi'

Get it here

New video footage from launch gig!

See (and hear!) footage from our recent album launch gig on the 'Video' tab above! Like this...

'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

 

Looking to listen?

Our new album will be available in just a couple of days (Friday 11 March!), and you'll be able to get it digitally from German Shepherd Records' BandCamp page, on the 'Music' tab above (or indeed from most of the usual online outlets)!
Our older records are still available via our own self-release BandCamp page, which is linked to further down the page.
So just for a couple of days, the 'Music' tab only takes you to the pre-order page (where you can hear a preview of 'No go the lowdown')! But from Friday, you'll be able to hear the whole album on there. Hope that makes sense!
Happy listening!

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.'

The Scissors launch 'Haunted Mirror' album at Cambridge Boathouse, 12 March!

We'll be launching our new album (which will be released on German Shepherd Records) at a special gig at Cambridge's The Boathouse  on Saturday 12 March!
Special guests will include the fantastic Helen Robertson, playing her electrifying punk-folk songs in a solo set, plus more TBC...

Advance tickets are available! We're so excited to finally unleash 'Haunted Mirror' on the world!

German Shepherd to release Scissors' new album 'Haunted Mirror'

We're thrilled to announce that German Shepherd Records will release our new album 'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror' later this year!

German Shepherd Records is a Greater Manchester based record label who release cutting edge new music plus historical archive material from some of the legendary bands from the Manchester Music Scene and elsewhere in the UK - and we're really excited to be working with them on our latest release!
'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror' will be available on download and streaming services from all the usual outlets, plus a limited quantity of physical CD copies.
Watch this space for the release date!

Happy new (tenth) year!

Been a while since the last post on here, sorry! But here we are, entering our tenth anniversary year of being The Scissors. We can happily announce that there will be releases this year!
The album, 'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror', which has been complete for a couple of months, will finally see the light of day - we'll announce details of which label has been kind enough to agree to release it for us (and when) shortly!
And there's another exciting project for a bit later in the year that we'll tell you about soon...
Once things are set in stone we'll get gig dates and radio appearances finalised and make some noise once more.
Thank you for your patience!
Love, THE SCISSORS

Album recording

We've finally found some time to continue work on our next album, and have got the basis of most of the rest of the tracks in the can. There are still guitar and vocal overdubs to do and a fair bit of knob twiddling, but the tracklisting is sorted and in rough form it's got the feel we were after. All coming together nicely!

It has a title too, which we'll reveal shortly. The vibe of the album (and cover) is 1890s music halls, conjurers and illusionists, magic lantern phantasmagoria, fake seances, and a big slab of psychedelia...

Our Christmas gift to you - 'Daylight Cinema' remastered!

Happy (slightly early) Christmas!
To celebrate the festive season, we've made our 2010 debut album available now remastered and with bonus tracks!
Head over to our Bandcamp page and 'name your price' (you can choose '£0.00' and get the whole album just by adding your email address to our mailing list).
You can preview all the tracks first if you like, or just dive in. We recommend the latter, obviously.
Enjoy! Happy Christmas!

'Daylight cinema' remastered edition coming soon!

Seeing as we've almost sold out of physical copies of our 2010 debut album 'Daylight Cinema', we thought we'd take the opportunity to remaster it and do a new edition. The original release was, for various reasons, a bit quiet and not mastered exactly as intended!

The new release will have sleeve notes about the context and recording of the album, some great photos from the launch gig, and memorabilia - enabling you to relive those heady days of winter 2009-10! Ahh, the whimpering dog of nostalgia...
We've also included two bonus tracks: the original demo version of dub excursion 'Over and out' (sounding pretty different to the released track), and an earlier recording of 'Lucy for London', dating back to the Scissors' early days, which appeared on podcasts and give-away CDs at gigs.

It's also in a different colour. Just because.

More news about a release date etc soon!

The Scissors on monster new compilation album!

The Scissors feature alongside 11 other bands on 'Rocket to Romsey', a crackin' compilation put together by Cambridge's long-time champion of punk, indie and agit-pop, R*E*P*E*A*T promotions. Proceeds from sales are going to support Love Music Hate Racism.
Release date is TBC, but will be soon! Watch this space!

Full line up features:
Beverley Kills - Dirty Cousins - DoNotResuscitate - Four Undercover Kings - The Great Mistakes - Johnny Panic - Rats As Big As Dogs - The Scissors - Spaghetti Faction - Volunteers - We Are Godzilla - Ten City Nation - Miss Black America

(...and the sleeve art was designed by The Scissors' very own Stewart Harris, at stewartharrisdesigns.com)