Night Work (album)

Night Work
Studio album by Scissor Sisters
Released	June 28, 2010
Genre	Alternative rock, glam rock, nu-disco
Length	44:21
Label	Polydor Records (UK) Downtown Records (US)
Producer	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters chronology
K-Mart Disco (2007) Night Work (2010) iTunes Festival: London 2010 (2010)
Singles from Night Work
"Fire with Fire" Released: June 20, 2010 "Any Which Way" Released: September 20, 2010 "Invisible Light" Released: December 16, 2010

Night Work is the third studio album by American band Scissor Sisters. The album was released on June 28, 2010, and was preceded by the release of lead single "Fire with Fire" on June 20.

Background

On May 8, 2010, it was reported that a previous version of the record had been "scrapped" in 2009. Singer Jake Shears said, "If it wasn't something we could fully get behind and believe in, I think the band was going to be over."^[1] The band then teamed up with producer Stuart Price to create Night Work. Shears fled to Berlin for a few months, where he gained inspiration for the songwriting and tracks on Night Work.

The first single released from the album was "Fire with Fire", which was followed by "Any Which Way". "Invisible Light" was released in an EP format on Boys Noize Records on August 16, 2010, featuring the original track as well as remixes by Boys Noize, Stuart Price, and Siriusmo. This EP was released on a transparent, yellow vinyl edition in addition to CD and download formats.^[2]

The cover art is a 1983 Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of dancer Peter Reed.^[3][4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Night Work"	Jason Sellards, Scott Hoffman, Derek Gruen, Stuart Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:08
2.	"Whole New Way"	Sellards, Hoffman, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	2:53
3.	"Fire with Fire"	Sellards, Hoffman, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	4:13
4.	"Any Which Way"	Sellards, Hoffman, Ana Lynch, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	4:41
5.	"Harder You Get"	Sellards, Hoffman, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:06
6.	"Running Out"	Sellards, Hoffman, Santi White	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:09
7.	"Something Like This"	Sellards, Hoffman	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:02
8.	"Skin This Cat"	Hoffman, Lynch, Sellards	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	2:41
9.	"Skin Tight"	Sellards, Hoffman, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:26
10.	"Sex and Violence"	Sellards, Hoffman	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	4:14
11.	"Night Life"	Sellards, Hoffman, Lynch, Gruen, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	3:37
12.	"Invisible Light"	Sellards, Hoffman, Lynch, Price	Stuart Price, Scissor Sisters	6:14

iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Fire With Fire" (Digital Dog Radio Edit)	2:42
14.	"Invisible Light" (Siriusmo Remix)	4:34

Japanese bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Fire With Fire" (Digital Dog Radio Edit)	2:42
14.	"Invisible Light" (Stuart Price US 12" Mix)	7:27
15.	"Invisible Light" (Siriusmo Remix)	4:34

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number eighteen on the US Billboard 200, selling 18,260 copies in its first week, giving Scissor Sisters their second top 20 album.

In the UK, the album debuted at number two, behind Eminem's album Recovery, selling 46,071 copies. In its second week, the album fell to number four.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Attitude	[6]
Daily News	[7]
Drowned in Sound	(4/10)[8]
Entertainment Weekly	A-[9]
The Guardian	[10]
musicOMH	[11]
NME	(7/10) [12]
Pitchfork Media	(7.6/10)[13]
PopMatters	(5/10)[14]
Robert Christgau	A-[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Slant Magazine	[17]
Spin	(6/10)[18]
The Times	[19]
Yahoo! Music UK	[20]

According to Metacritic the album was met with generally favorable reviews, reaching a metascore of 72 based on 21 reviews.^[21]

Chart performance

Charts (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	10
Austrian Albums Chart[22]	36
Belgium Albums Chart (Flanders)	43
Belgium Albums Chart (Wallonia)	38
Canadian Albums Chart	23
Danish Albums Chart[23]	36
Dutch Albums Chart	29
Finnish Albums Chart[24]	22
French Albums Chart[25]	19
German Albums Chart[26]	29
Greek Albums Chart[27]	2
Irish Albums Chart	11
Italian Albums Chart[28]	39
New Zealand Albums Chart[29]	36
Norwegian Albums Chart	31
Spanish Albums Chart[30]	28
Swedish Albums Chart	15
Swiss Albums Chart[31]	12
UK Albums Chart	2
US Billboard 200[32]	18
US Billboard Digital Albums[32]	5
US Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums[32]	3
US Billboard Independent Albums[32]	1

Personnel

• Jake Shears – vocals
• Babydaddy – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, programming
• Ana Matronic – vocals
• Del Marquis – guitar
• Joan Wasser – string arrangement
• Kylie Minogue – backing vocals on "Any Which Way", sample of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" on

"Something Like This"

• Santi White (Santigold) – backing vocals on "Running Out"
• Ian McKellen – vocals on "Invisible Light"
• Helen Terry – backing vocals on "Whole New Way"
• Randy Real (Randy Schrager) – drums, percussion
• John "JJ" Garden – keyboards
• Stuart Price – "everything in between"

References

1. "New Scissor Sisters album had to be scrapped, admits singer". dailyrecord.co.uk. 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
2. "Boys Noize Records Presents Scissor Sisters Invisible Light Remixes EP". boysnoize.com. 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
3. Shears, Jake (2011-01-20). "What Robert Mapplethorpe means to me".
4. exhibit-E.com. "The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation - Olga Korper Gallery - May 1 - 31, 2008". Mapplethorpe.org. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
5. Night Work at AllMusic
6. Crummy, Colin. "Scissor Sisters: Night Work". Attitude. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
7. Farber, Jim (2010-06-27). "Scissor Sisters' 'Night Work': Band's best album yet recalls art-gay-pop scene before AIDS". Daily News. New York.
8. Wood, Marie (2010-06-29). "Scissor Sisters - Night Work". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
9. Dolan, Jon (2010-06-23). "Music Review: Night Work". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
10. Sullivan, Caroline (2010-06-24). "Scissor Sisters: Night Work". The Guardian. London.
11. Monk, Christopher (2010-06-28). "Scissor Sisters - Night Work". musicOMH. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
12. Martin, Dan (2010-06-28). "Album Review: Scissor Sisters - 'Night Work' (Polydor)". NME. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
13. Perpetua, Matthew (2010-07-01). "Album Reviews: Scissor Sisters: Night Work". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
14. Fairall, Jer (2010-07-02). "Scissor Sisters: Night Work". PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
15. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Scissor Sisters". RobertChristgau.com.
16. Hoard, Christian (2010-06-29). "Night Work". Rolling Stone (1108/1109): 107. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
17. Keefe, Jonathan (2010-06-26). "Scissor Sisters: Night Work". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
18. Beta, Andy (2010-06-09). "Scissor Sisters, 'Night Work' (Universal)". Spin. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
20. Wright, Lisa (2010-06-28). "Scissor Sisters - Night Work". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
21. "Critic Reviews for Night Work". Metacritic. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
22. "Scissor Sisters Austrian Charting". Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
23. Steffen Hung. "Scissor Sisters - Night Work". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
24. "Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomen virallinen lista - Albumit". Ifpi.fi. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
25. "Scissor Sisters - Night Work - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
26. musicline.de / PhonoNet GmbH. "German Albums Chart". Musicline.de. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
27. Steffen Hung. "Scissor Sisters - Night Work". greekcharts.com. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
28. "Artisti". Fimi.it. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
29. "Scissor Sisters Night Work New Zealand Charting". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
30. "Scissor Sisters Spanish Charting" (PDF). promusicae.org. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
31. "Scissor Sisters Swiss Charting". hitparade.ch Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
32. "Billboard.com: Night Work - Scissor Sisters". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.