The reviews

Ta Dah!
Scissor Sisters
Umvd Labels

Since not liking the Scissor Sisters is tantamount to not liking fun, let’s just assume that everyone already adores this band and go on from there, OK?
The Sisters’ hotly anticipated second full-length feel like a streamlined continuation of their debut. It’s hard to imagine no one had ever called an album Ta Dah! before, but then these sexy troubadours have no trouble subtly reworking the past to make it almost-new and always joyous.
They may have emerged in a brief window when campy pastiche rock seemed like the next big thing, but just as their friends Fischerspooner did with the electroclash "movement," the Scissor Sister possess an elevated enough sense of fun, popcraft, and good enough connections to carry them for years. Their tunes might have you thinking of Bowie or the Bee Gees but only as cagily reimagined.

Like Red on a Rose
Alan Jackson
Arista

The idea of twang king Alan Jackson pairing up with Alison Krauss for an album of love songs might seem heretical to some, especially if they heard only the first cut, the adult-contemporary ballad Anywhere on Earth You Are. But producer Krauss, always knew there was a sensuous heart beating beneath his aw-shucks demeanour, one that would fit perfectly with the intimate repertoire, genre-bending musical framework, and virtuoso players she’d always chosen for herself.
If there’s a downside to this brilliant, if unlikely pairing, it’s that Krauss’s sombre programme could benefit from something a tad more libidinous or uptempo. But what is here is so beautifully chosen and performed (with spare, affecting harmony vocals by Lee Ann Womack, Cheryl White, Sidney and Suzanne Cox, and Krauss herself) that it’s hard to quibble.

The Road to Escondido
J J Cale & Eric Clapton
Reprise/Wea

J J Cale penned two of Eric Clapton’s career-defining solo hits, Cocaine and After Midnight. And this collaboration is long overdue. But despite the rather slick production and long list of guest backing musicians, The Road to Escondido is still dominated more by Cale than Clapton.
The relatively reticent Okie wrote 11 of the 14 tracks, and it’s his low-key soufflé of blues, jazz, and country that shapes and directs the disc’s tone, with Clapton along for the ride.
Clapton hasn’t sounded this relaxed or involved in his own material for years. The traditionally laid-back, if not quite snoozy, Cale responds with a comparatively energised performance, likely due to the high-profile company.
The fact is this collaboration yields Eric Clapton’s most engaging and contagious roots-rock release in a long time.

I Am Not Afraid of You
Yo La Tengo
Matador Records

It’s no surprise that a group named after something said during a baseball game would title an album after something said during a basketball match. It is a bit of a surprise that this band remains so incredibly good, and capable of surprising even longtime listeners.
This one’s so diverse and such a mixture of different styles, it’s reminiscent of the group’s all-request on-air shows they play annually to support New Jersey-based radio station WFMU.
Book-ended by two long, droney tunes, you’ve got garage-rock rave-ups, country-pop, horn-driven R&B, little gorgeous atmospheric songs, some brilliant falsetto singing, and...this list could go on and on.
Who else would think to pair conga-style percussion to a Suicide-esque synth drone? It’s the little things that matter, especially when you mastered the big ones twenty-plus years ago.