I will admit that I found this release very difficult to review, the main reason being that there appears to be no cohesion to the album, it's just as if someone threw together a Various Artists compilation based on the fact that most tracks had a similar drum beat. The majority of tracks are ok, however there's nothing that really made me think that this is a great track/single.
'Scars' opens with the title track featuring Kelis, all synth and drums with a very jerky beat and Kelis warbling about "Coming loose at the seams" which to me was what the track felt like.
'Raindrops', released as a single is however much better with poppy synths and a bass hookline that is meant for the dancefloor, and is one of the better tracks on this offering.
'She's no Good' features Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and is swing based with a good drumbeat and some catchy clever lyrics: "So why do I yearn so, so very much for you, hooked on adrenalin, It's pheromones that make me do what I do."
This is followed by 'ËœSaga' featuring Santigold and has a ska based beat, but sounds a bit messy and is nothing out of the ordinary.
'ËœFeelings Gone', the second single features Sam Sparro and again is a track destined for the dance floor with an upbeat and poppy sound.
'ËœMy Turn' features Lightspeed Champion (AKA Devonte Hynes) who has worked with Florence & the Machine. This song is filled with assorted bleeps and with a disco bass line made me reach for the fast forward button.
'A Possibility' features Amp Fiddler and starts of great with a lovely slow melody, before the dance floor drums come in effectively ruining the song.
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'ËœTwerk' featuring the US hip-hop group Yo! Majesty is a rap with more assorted bleeps and knob twiddling. Just as I think this can't get any worse, they roll out 'Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)' featuring Yoko Ono, and this is a brilliant indication of why Yoko should be a mime artist.
The next two tracks, 'What's a Girl Got to Do' featuring Paloma Faith, and 'Stay Close' featuring Lisa Kekaula could have been brilliant, the former featuring smoky jazz based vocals, and the latter some excellent soulful singing, but both are ultimately let down by the musical arrangements.
'Distractionz' featuring Jose Hendrix is best forgotten, then, the end of the album is in sight. 'Gimme Somethin' True' featuring Jose James is a good dance floor track with strong vocals, but this is unfortunately a little too late to redeem the album.
Overall, I was disappointed with 'Scars', as it seemed that there were far too many guests, from widely differing musical genres, and some of them (Paloma Faith & Lisa Kekaula) would have been better served with arrangements that supported their particular talents rather than aimed everything squarely at the dance floor.
If more thought had gone into this, it could have been so much better, rather than sounding messy and unconnected.
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