Scissor Sisters

If rock critics were hunters, it'd be Scissor Sisters season right now. Ever since its flamboyant self-titled debut went platinum in the U.K. earlier this year, the Gotham-based quintet has been the target of just about every brush-off and put-down in the music-journalist arsenal. To set the record straight: Yes, the group is absurdly retro and offers no apologies for being blatantly derivative of the '70s most extravagant cheese. Abba and Elton John? More like Atlanta Rhythm Section and Leo Sayer. But Scissor Sisters also summons the smart, quirky pop of the era, like Roxy Music and Sparks, then twirls it all around in a flash of disco and a swish of pink feathers and leather. Factor in the act's now infamous, electro-injected cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," and you've got the recipe for pleasure -- the kind that's way too brash, masterful and ass-shaking to feel guilty about. Let the critics scoff and sneer; you'll have the last laugh out on the dance floor.