R&B
Kelis, "Flesh Tone" (Interscope)
Don't be fooled by "22nd Century," the second track of Kelis' first disc after a four-year absence. It's a single-minded call to the futuristic dance-floor with enough sonic oomph to achieve liftoff. But while Kelis is indeed taking an emphatic step into Euro-disco here, this nine-song set is also deeply personal. There are tracks that reflect on her years with ex-husband Nas, but she's also keeping her eyes on the future. On "Brave" she sings, "I was super cool/ But now I'm super strong/ I had nothing to lose/ but I was super wrong." Many songs, co-written with David Guetta and Jean Baptiste, evoke yearning, healing or frustration ("Scream"). "Emancipate" is the kind of beat-crazy, liberating track Madonna has been searching for. The propulsive "4th of July (Fireworks)" is an affirmation of reinvention ("And now I'm brand new/ Rename me"). The album closes with the soulful "Song for the Baby," a message to her son, Knight. While the sound of "Flesh Tone" is electro cool, the songs reveal a deep humanity.
KEN CAPOBIANCO, BOSTON GLOBE
POP/ROCK
Scissor Sisters, "Night Work"
At their best, these sparkle disco champs bring to mind the result of a one-night stand between Erasure and the Killers. Their 2004 debut was a synth-pop bacchanal; gloomy meditations on fame and death gate-crashed the follow-up. The group's third disc restores the balance between gravitas and camp. Sprawling, profane, in love with satiny retro disco, dance floor excess and itself, "Night Work" has no end of nostalgic pop gems great ("Sex and Violence") and small ("Harder You Get"). Even Ian McKellen gets in on the act, contributing a spoken-word passage to "Invisible Light" that recalls Vincent Price's rap on "Thriller." The disc peaks with "Any Which Way," an optimistic, unrelenting boogie featuring the memorable suggestion: "Take me any way you like it / In front of the fireplace / In front of your yacht / In front of my parents." Say what you will about Scissor Sisters -- they don't play hard to get.
ALLISON STEWART, WASHINGTON POST
