Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour (Polydor CD & DVD) HHHH GLORIA Gaynor has quipped that disco is still alive and kicking, only that the names had been changed to protect the innocent.

In all its many guises, Magic Hour is a disco project through and through. With influences as diverse as the Florida sunshine sound to the hard electronic rhythms from Munich to the glamtastic Funkadelic and futuristic horns of Earth Wind And Fire, Scissor Sisters are not afraid to show their influences.

Being a hotchpotch of all things disco, the New Yorkers’ return is actually reminiscent of the not-so-cool, but in his time spectacularly successful, Leo Sayer, as demonstrated perfectly on the radio-friendly Baby Come Home and Only The Horses. Magic Hour will be well represented on next year’s inevitable greatest hits package, and in the meantime one of the most creative and joyful touring bands has a new collection of instantly likeable songs to thrill their boisterous audiences.