- Scissor Sisters front man Jake Shears has used the band’s ABBA-like “indefinite hiatus” to keep pumping out the style of dance-infused pop that made the queer standard bearers beloved across the globe – but somewhat oddly not in their USA homeland, being immensely more popular in the UK, Europe and to some extent Australia. Perhaps the crisp slickness of the production or the unashamed pride in their collective “otherness” from the heteronormative world put the notoriously conservative American record companies on the defensive immediately unsure of how to market them and to wear the inevitable flame wars the hypocritical right wing rage machine would unleash on them.

Shears’ second solo album Last Man Dancing – a neat pun that encapsulates the direction he’s going without the other three members of the Scissor Sisters – doesn’t sound wildly different from the classy dance-pop that was the hallmark of the band throughout their early to mid 2000s heyday. Shears’ vocal style has a sharpness that many who work in the dance music scene do not have and he has a rare ability to deliver a lyric both in his natural, strong tenor voice and then easily switch it up to a cracking falsetto without missing a beat (check out Mess of Me which is virtually entirely delivered in falsetto over an early '80's electronic soundscape in an obvious homage to the late, great Sylvester). And a beat is what isn’t missing from any of the numbers on this album. Shears knows where he and his audience are most at home – the dance floor and the euphoria of being surrounded by all the accoutrements of the disco: flashing lights, smooth bass lines, uplifting chords and key changes; it is all there on this album.

Picking out one track that is “better” than another is tough because the album flows seamlessly like one giant house party. Which isn’t a surprise as Shears has described the album as, “a journey through the ultimate house party. ... It’s inspired by all the over-the-top house parties I’ve thrown throughout my life.” From the opening track Too Much Music, the rhythm is set – get moving or get going. (Which is also accompanied by a sock-it-to-you video clip that raises queer representation to the max). Halfway down the track listing, the title track actually brings the tempo back a little to a smoother groove, however, this is just a nifty breather before that tempo ratchets up with the mostly instrumental 8 Ball which morphs into a massive dance stomper Devil Came Down The Dance Floor with Shears sharing vocals with Amber Martin whose powerhouse effort clearly shows her Broadway roots and like several other vocalists of that ilk, owes much to the often unheralded women of colour like Martha Wash, Izora Armstead and Loleatta Holloway, who have contributed vocal lines to some of the greatest dance tunes of all time.

Also appearing in guest roles are other gay icons Big Freedia and Kylie Minogue who has had a long association with Shears and hearing their voices blend on Voices is a real treat as is the dirty house track Doses which mixes into Radio Eyes with Big Freedia providing the additional colour in their own inimitable style – and – wait for it – Jane Fonda (yes, THE Jane Fonda…). Along the way on this album you have the social commentary songs like Do The TV and Really Big Deal plus the stunning disco infused single I Used To Be In Love. Wrapping up the album is Diamonds Don’t Burn which throbs along with the godfather of punk, Iggy Pop’s voiceover appearing mid throb – it’s rather unexpected but equally perfect as well.

In 2023, queer dance pop has already been served up proud and loud thanks to Darren Hayes' Homosexual and Cub Sport's Jesus At The Gay Bar. Shears has added one hell of a party album to the roster with a brilliantly shining disco lightshow that tells the world that “we’re here, we’re queer and we aren’t going away – so get f*ing used to it”.

- Blair Martin.