A genre- and gender-defying mix of rock, pop, and dance inspired by burlesque, drag queens, and glam rock, New York's Scissor Sisters made a splash in late 2003/early 2004 with their neon-bright Scissor Sisters (whose name is slang for a lesbian sex act) came from the cutting edge of New York's nightlife and gay culture, incorporating elements of burlesque and drag shows, as well as performance art, into their theatrical live shows. This was the perfect setting for their music, which gleaned the best of Elton John, the Bee Gees, the B-52's, David Bowie, and many other artists with a campy sense of humor and impeccable style. The Scissor Sisters followed Night Work's dancefloor triumphs with Magic Hour, a set of songs that seem more comfortable when they don't feel like dancing. Not that the group doesn't try to keep Night Work's momentum going: Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, and company recruited Pharrell Williams and Calvin Harris to co-produce a couple of tracks, and invited Azealia Banks to rap on "Shady Love." While Magic Hour may not be as satisfying to fans who just wanna dance as albums like Night Work and Scissor Sisters were, it should please those who enjoy the band's formidable songwriting skills as much as cutting a rug -- and at the very least, it reaffirms that Scissor Sisters still have more depth than some people give them credit for. Listen to "Let's Have a Kiki" here: Buy your copy of Magic Hour here.

While there may be other worthwhile releases this week, sorry, no one trumps the almighty My Bloody Valentine. This week, we have in stock some extra copies of the remastered, double CD set of their 3 EPs Collection, EPs 1988-1991. For a band with so little output, their mark on the guitar world and the shoegaze cannon is legendary. Many bands have tried to emulate their sound, but there can be no other. Such a specific treatment of guitars and angelic voices. I consider their work an essential component of any music collection. Five stars, all abound! For fun, listen to Instrumental Number 2, a deep cut, one not instantly recognizable as MBV. I wanted to pick something less obvious than Swallow, Soon, or Glider. See if you can pick out the bass line and percussion that appears in Madonna's "Justify My Love." Hmmmmmm...perhaps Prince (the writer of the song) was a MBV fan? Common sample? Buy your copy of My Bloody Valentine's EPS 1988-1991 by emailing marta@alternativemusic.com

Night & Day

My favorite group of British Synth Pop Nerds are back with In Our Heads, their fifth full length album since 2005's Coming On Strong. Hot Chip hail from London, bursting onto the music scene with an EP, Mexico, in 2000. The voices of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard are a fine study in contrast. Taylor offers dreamy, effortless falsettos that cut to the heart of the beauty of performers like Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake (minus any of the pretentiousness of Radiohead or even Coldplay, or the bland vocal acrobatics of Remy Zero). Meanwhile, scattered throughout the record (and in the occasional duet), Goddard offers a tone that sounds a bit more world-weary and at times almost gruff in comparison to Taylor, calling to mind Damon Albarn's cool monotone tendencies. The group signed to DFA in 2005 and released the Over and Over EP, as well as the excellent 2006 full-length The Warning. Hot Chip kept busy in 2007 by supporting The Warning with singles and consistent touring, and released a DJ-Kicks mix album. Late that year, the single "Ready for the Floor" heralded the arrival of Made in the Dark, which featured some of the band's most focused grooves and poppiest melodies to date. The mellower One Life Stand followed in 2010, along with a remix collection later that year. In our Heads remains pretty consistent with the outfit's past releases, including slower ballads, quirky pop, danceable numbers, and their idiosyncratic brand of weirdness. They are amongst one of my favorite contemporary groups. They fill the void that Erasure and Bronski Beat left in me. Watch "Night and Day" here: Buy your copy of Hot Chip's In Our Heads here.

It's been eight years since Orbital have released an album. With the release of 2004's Blue Album, however, the Hartnolls announced that they were disbanding Orbital. After the split, Paul began recording music under his own name, including material for the Wipeout Pure PSP game and a solo album (The Ideal Condition), while Phil formed another duo, Long Range, with Nick Smith. Blue Album. Unsurprisingly, that wasn't the end of their partnership. Five years after the Blue Album, the Hartnolls announced their live reunion for 2009's Big Chill festival, as well as a 20th anniversary tour. The collection 20 followed in due course, as did a comeback single, 2010's "Don't Stop Me." This year, they have released their eighth full-length, Wonky, with a throwback sound inspired partly by its producer, Flood, and partly by Orbital's sound back in the early '90s. While I don't think they will ever be the same Orbital we fell in love with on the Brown Album or Snivilisation, Wonky's sound stands pretty close. It's good that they are still around in the age of Deadmau5 and Skrillex, showing the kids at the festivals how it used to be done, that electronic music has a distinct history. They make an attempt at a dub-step-esque style on the track Beelzedub and they manage to do so respectably, without sounding too much like a cheap knock off. They are, afterall, Orbital, if it's being done in dance music, they can acclimate well yet keeping their artistry. Not realizing it, my album pick is New France, the song which has Zola Jesus guest singing on it, the same song as their single on Pitchfork. This is another cue as to how Orbital has kept up with the more radio-friendly song lengths and thinking ahead as what are more marketable songs. In this age, where a musician really needs to be able to break digital markets, this may be their way of staying relevant. Yet I do not feel anything about their history as music makers is compromised by making shorter songs. There's just more to love, rather than a few long songs. Listen to New France here: Email marta@alternativemusic.com to buy your copy of Orbital's Wonky.