VIA PRESS RELEASE | Jake Shears (the multidisciplinary musician and frontman of seminal NYC indie glam-pop greats Scissor Sisters) is back with a kinetic new single “Too Much Music,” the first taste of his new forthcoming solo album Last Man Dancing, that will see release on June 2nd, 2023 on his new label home of Mute.
One of modern pop’s true trailblazers, “Too Much Music” is an instant Jake Shears anthem that feels as much a fresh start as it does a return to self. An experimental mix of glam-rock overture, disco groove, and soulful harmony, it asks why you’d ever stand still in life, when “there can never be too much music for me.” Directed by Callum Macdiarmid, the stunning “Too Much Music” video sees Shears in suitably subversive form, with cinematic and unexpected results.
“Too Much Music” is an exhilarating introduction to Jake Shears’ new album Last Man Dancing. Recorded between the US, Portugal and London—where he relocated from his New Orleans home during the pandemic—the project features production from the likes of Boys Noize (Kelis, Skrillex), Vaughn Oliver (Latto’s ‘Big Energy’) and includes the sort of head-turning party guestlist that, in Shears’ universe, somehow make total sense: Kylie Minogue, Big Freedia, and Amber Martin all feature, with a cameo from Jane Fonda and some timeless words of wisdom from Iggy Pop.
Last Man Dancing is full of incandescent nods to fellow dance music pioneers, a Sylvester falsetto here, a Patrick Cowley cowbell there and a Berghain pulse, all modernized, personalized and right at home in 2023. Hedonistic, poignant and surreal, Jake Shears has now turned a lifelong love-affair with club culture into his most ambitious material to date.
In a career that has spanned multi-million global album sales, Brits, Ivor Novellos, Grammy award nominations, and arena tours, Jake Shears has helped shift the musical landscape as we now know it. Scissor Sisters’ catalog continues to permeate throughout the years. They forged a new pathway in pop culture which has allowed a new generation of unapologetic, occasionally outrageous and brilliantly-uncompromising pop stars to follow.
A born entertainer, Jake himself has continued to shape-shift: he has not only written an acclaimed memoir (Boys Keep Swinging), performed on Broadway (returning for a special appearance of Kinky Boots at the Hollywood Bowl last summer), but also recently opened a musical in London to rave reviews (Tammy Faye, written alongside Elton John and British playwright James Graham). That pull towards the dancefloor, however, has remained a constant throughout Shears’ unorthodox career, resulting in a record that serves both as a spiritual homecoming and a blast of escapism.
In Jake’s own words, “Last Man Dancing is my ultimate house party. Presented in two distinct halves, it chronicles a night’s journey from sing-along dance anthems into the deeper, darker corners of my living room. Electro-pop, tech-house, poppers-fueled disco, it’s MY afters and YOU just got the address. We can be as loud and late as we want… and while not everyone might make it to the end, it’s the last ones dancing who are rewarded with the most magical moments of the evening.”
Last Man Dancing is available to pre-order on CD, colored vinyl, cassette, and digitally now. Tickets for Jake Shears’ album launch shows go on general sale on February 10th, with pre-sale available from February 8th for those pre-ordering the album.
