Pet Shop Boys:
Electric:
x2:
Out Now:
8/10
After 2012's rather beige Elysium album, questions were being raised and doubts were setting in as to whether Pet Shop Boys would ever return to the disco-decadence that permeated much of their early to mid-period work. As the death knell began its chime, those masters of theatrical madness Tennant and Lowe have unplugged the guitars, packed away the pipe and slippers and crowbarred their way into a box labelled simply, 'fun'. The bells continue to ring, but for all the right reasons.
Electric is still the same old PSB we know and love (or hate in some cases) but the one that gave us Bilingual, Nightlife and Very, rather than Release or last year's disappointments (remember Winner? - it wasn't). This is music for an extended hedonistic weekend and, while not quite as debauched as say, The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On or Young Offender, the emphasis here is the dance-floor, the early hours and forgetting your age.
Opening near-instrumental Axis is as far from the likes of Rent or Being Boring as you could wish for - it starts like Orbital, it morphs into Daft Punk's current Moroderisms mixed with PSB's own previous (and successful) clubbing dalliances, namely Very's upfront partner, Relentless. It's politely bangin'. Of a more familiar configuration is Bolshy - it's also one of the least endearing tunes on here, mainly due to its repetitious refrain in a Nightcrawlers stylee, but still technically superior. It'll make a great single.
The Daft Punk reference is never more prevalent than on Love Is a Bourgeois Construct, a hark back to classic Tennant lyricism with a slice of classical-music lobbed in for good measure (Purcell, since you ask). With couplets like "I've been hanging out with various riff-raff/somewhere on the Goldhawk Road" and "Searching for the soul of England/drinking tea like Tony Benn", this is the duo right back on an even observational keel. Another single.
In fact most of Electric is pin-sharp. The tracks may be long, the beats may be pumping but the lads haven't forgotten what put them on Brit-pop's pedestal in the first place - melodies. Inside a Dream borrows from Detroit, Chicago and Manchester's rich clubbing heritage and sounds not unlike New Order circa Technique, while Thursday is surprisingly moreish considering Example chirrups a rap with one eye on Ibeefa and one foot in Croydon - think Love Comes Quickly, think Domino Dancing and think a few rounds of WKD and you're midway there - mercifully, the whole experience is rescued by a superb tune during the first four minutes.
In fact, the only forgettable moments on Electric fill up two-thirds of side C (3) - The Last to Die is merely OK and Shouting In The Evening feels like a nagging afterthought, but even these two supersede anything on Disco 3 or bloody Release, for example. Vocal concludes the set in typically flamboyant style with over-the-top hands-to-the-lazers synths that should pummel most Balearic Island clubs into submission.
Let's hope these two keep their dancing shoes on for a lot longer this time around - it suits them.
Electric:
x2:
Out Now:
8/10
Electric is still the same old PSB we know and love (or hate in some cases) but the one that gave us Bilingual, Nightlife and Very, rather than Release or last year's disappointments (remember Winner? - it wasn't). This is music for an extended hedonistic weekend and, while not quite as debauched as say, The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On or Young Offender, the emphasis here is the dance-floor, the early hours and forgetting your age.
Opening near-instrumental Axis is as far from the likes of Rent or Being Boring as you could wish for - it starts like Orbital, it morphs into Daft Punk's current Moroderisms mixed with PSB's own previous (and successful) clubbing dalliances, namely Very's upfront partner, Relentless. It's politely bangin'. Of a more familiar configuration is Bolshy - it's also one of the least endearing tunes on here, mainly due to its repetitious refrain in a Nightcrawlers stylee, but still technically superior. It'll make a great single.
The Daft Punk reference is never more prevalent than on Love Is a Bourgeois Construct, a hark back to classic Tennant lyricism with a slice of classical-music lobbed in for good measure (Purcell, since you ask). With couplets like "I've been hanging out with various riff-raff/somewhere on the Goldhawk Road" and "Searching for the soul of England/drinking tea like Tony Benn", this is the duo right back on an even observational keel. Another single.
In fact most of Electric is pin-sharp. The tracks may be long, the beats may be pumping but the lads haven't forgotten what put them on Brit-pop's pedestal in the first place - melodies. Inside a Dream borrows from Detroit, Chicago and Manchester's rich clubbing heritage and sounds not unlike New Order circa Technique, while Thursday is surprisingly moreish considering Example chirrups a rap with one eye on Ibeefa and one foot in Croydon - think Love Comes Quickly, think Domino Dancing and think a few rounds of WKD and you're midway there - mercifully, the whole experience is rescued by a superb tune during the first four minutes.
In fact, the only forgettable moments on Electric fill up two-thirds of side C (3) - The Last to Die is merely OK and Shouting In The Evening feels like a nagging afterthought, but even these two supersede anything on Disco 3 or bloody Release, for example. Vocal concludes the set in typically flamboyant style with over-the-top hands-to-the-lazers synths that should pummel most Balearic Island clubs into submission.
Let's hope these two keep their dancing shoes on for a lot longer this time around - it suits them.