Scissor Sisters (album)

Scissor Sisters is the debut album by American glam rock band Scissor Sisters, first released on February 2, 2004. It was released by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Universal Motown Records in the United States. The album relates to LGBT life in New York City.

Scissor Sisters
Studio album by Scissor Sisters
Released	February 2, 2004
Recorded	2002–2003
Studio	5D (Brooklyn, New York) The Shed (New York)
Genre	Glam rock electroclash nu-disco
Length	43:02
Label	Polydor Universal Motown
Producer	Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters chronology
The Demo Album (2003) Scissor Sisters (2004) Ta-Dah (2006)
Singles from Scissor Sisters
"Laura" Released: October 27, 2003[1] "Comfortably Numb" Released: January 19, 2004[2] "Take Your Mama" Released: March 29, 2004[3] "Mary" Released: October 11, 2004[4] "Filthy/Gorgeous" Released: January 3, 2005[5]

Scissor Sisters reached number 1 on the UK and Irish albums charts and was the best-selling album of 2004 in the UK. Since its release, it been certified 9× Platinum in the UK, selling over 2,700,000 copies in the country alone.^[6] In Ireland, it has been certified 5× Platinum. The album was not as successful in their native US, peaking at number 102 on the Billboard 200. As of February 2007, it has sold 299,000 copies in United States.^[7] Scissor Sisters has sold 3,300,000 copies worldwide,^[8] and is listed as one of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die in the book of the same name, edited by Robert Dimery.^[9]

The album won Best International Album at the 2005 BRIT Awards. In July 2006 it was named by Attitude as the top "gay album" of all time.^[10]

Release history

The album was first released on CD, and was given a limited vinyl release in Europe. Cassette versions were only released in Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia. In 2015, Dutch vinyl reissue label Music on Vinyl re-released the album on LP. Polydor reissued the album in early 2019 as a "half-speed mastered" audiophile release. This would be repressed on green vinyl as a "20th anniversary edition".

On July 18, 2025, the album was released as a three-CD "21st anniversary edition", featuring the UK bonus tracks from the original CD release in that country, B-sides, demo tracks and remixes. The 21st anniversary edition was also released as a double album, with the first disc once again pressed from the half-speed masters of the 2019 and 2024 releases and the second disc containing the UK bonus tracks, demos and B-sides.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Blender	[13]
The Guardian	[14]
Mojo	[15]
NME	9/10[16]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[17]
Q	[18]
Rolling Stone	[19]
Uncut	[20]
The Village Voice	B+[21]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[11]

Track listing

Scissor Sisters track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Laura"	Scott Hoffman, Jason Sellards	Scissor Sisters	3:36
2.	"Take Your Mama"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	4:31
3.	"Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd cover)	David Gilmour, Roger Waters	Scissor Sisters	4:25
4.	"Mary"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	4:43
5.	"Lovers in the Backseat"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	3:15
6.	"Tits on the Radio"	Hoffman, Ana Lynch, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	3:16
7.	"Filthy/Gorgeous"	Hoffman, Lynch, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	3:46
8.	"Music Is the Victim"	Derek Gruen, Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	2:57
9.	"Better Luck"	Gruen, Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	3:08
10.	"It Can't Come Quickly Enough"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	4:42
11.	"Return to Oz"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	4:39

UK bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"A Message from Ms. Matronic" (unlisted hidden track)	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	0:31
13.	"The Skins"	Hoffman, Sellards	Scissor Sisters	2:55
14.	"Get It Get It"	Hoffman, Sellards, Michael Nyman	Scissor Sisters	3:47

US iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Get It Get It"	Hoffman, Sellards, Nyman	Scissor Sisters	3:47

Personnel

• Jake Shears – lead vocals, piano on "Laura"
• Babydaddy – bass guitar, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
• Ana Lynch (Ana Matronic) – lead vocals
• Del Marquis – guitar, bass guitar
• Paddy Boom – drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Scissor Sisters Chart (2004–2005) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 7 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 75 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 81 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[25] 18 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 67 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 40 French Albums (SNEP)[28] 100 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)[29] 22 Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 33 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[32] 19 Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[34] 70 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 13 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1 US Billboard 200[37] 102 US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)[38] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Scissor Sisters Chart (2004) Position Irish Albums (IRMA)[39] 12 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[40] 94 UK Albums (OCC)[41] 1 US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[42] 6 Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[43] 40 Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[44] 61 UK Albums (OCC)[45] 17 US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[46] 5 Chart (2006) Position UK Albums (OCC)[47] 91 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for Scissor Sisters Chart (2000–2009) Position UK Albums (OCC) 9 All-time charts All-time chart performance for Scissor Sisters Chart Position UK Albums (OCC)[48] 38 UK Studio Albums (OCC)[49] 35 UK Debut Albums (OCC)[50] 12

Certifications

Certifications for Scissor Sisters

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51]	Platinum	70,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[52]	Gold	20,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[53]	5× Platinum	75,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[54]	9× Platinum	2,760,000[55]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[56]	3× Platinum	3,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Scissor Sisters

Country	Date
United Kingdom	February 2, 2004
United States	July 27, 2004