Lopez Blogs

Hells bells! The decent albums are coming thick and fast. And I like it when things come thick and fast!! First there was the Franz, then upping the ante to the nth degree was Lily Allen. And last week there was the rather funtastic Alcazar album. On top of this, I am still loving last years carry-overs from Take That, Will Young, The Killers and of course Same Difference. And I haven't even formulated proper thoughts yet on Kevin Borg and Erik Hassle. As if all that ain't enough, next week sees the release of a new Mans Zelmerlow album (drool, he gets foxier by the second) and BWO's latest opus. It's more than a boy can take. And I can take a lot! Luckily i am on holiday for a week on Saturday (a lovely sun soaked week in Gran Canaria) so I will be able to catch up on all me musical stylings then. Because all of the above has been interrupted by the arrival of the new Pet Shop Boys album "Yes" sometime last night...

Frankly, reviewing the Pet Shop Boys is way beyond my level of comprehension! It's not of course. It's just that there are many people out there who have a much better PSB knowledge than I do and can probably place the album in a better context. Chartrigger has already done a rather ace track by track effort on towleroad. I expect in-depth analysis from XO and Phillapolava. Listening to the album a few times this morning lead me to think that it's a very familiar pet shop boys sound, but ultimately very well done, polished pop music. It's pretty entertaining from start to finish, with nary a filler track in sight (yes, I like the poor maligned Vulnerable!) and it's once again timeless synth-pop from the boys. Yes, there is a xenomaniacal glow over everything, but Neil and Chris still have political subtext woven into the very fabric of their epic songs of love and loss. Love, etc remains a brilliant choice for first single and a chumbawamba-esque chorus illustrates that all we need is love (for the conservative in you) as long as you realise material possessions don't mean squat (for the liberal in you). It works on several levels. Hurrah! It's possible chart failure this week may be all the more heartbreaking, though frankly the song seems to have been around forever and a day.

I'm not going to go through the whole album, so I'll just pull out some of the highlights for me. Did You See Me Coming has been criminally relegated to the Love, Etc. EP and a free track on the Mail on Sunday's Story cd. Lord knows why - this glorious lushly orchestrated track is definitely worthy of a single release, and should the boys ignore that, I will probably just pretend it is single 2 or 3 anyway. All Over The World, which will be the second single, is both classical and dance, at once giddy and euphoric. It's a straight up pop tune, with a kooky twist and perhaps the song I have most wanted to be a single since the magnificent Left To My Own Devices. It's instant classic recognisable PSB and mighty fine with it. Pandemonium apparently was the song written for Kylie (she's proper burned those bridges) but still works well for the boys, as most their female perspective songs do. It's a bit sci fi/syfy at the start but settles into an epic musical narration of how marvelous it feels to be in love. If this had been Kylie's comeback single instead of Two Hearts, it would have been number one for a decade. Or at least number two in it's first week. One of the two. it's that good. Beautiful People is the track where Chris says he took all he learnt from Dusty Springfield and ploughed it into one song. You can totally tell. It's heaven on a slice of rye bread. It's a western soundtrack that is both a throwback to that gorgeous 60s pop sound Dusty did so well as well as a sly dig at modern day life ("is it just a fantasy to dream about a perfect me?").

The dubs of the bonus disc pass me by, but you should absolutely add the electroclash smash duet with Phil Oakley to your Yes play list. Ditto the current b-side Gin and Jag. Definitely worthy of album inclusion. So overall, a pop album that showcases all elements of the Pet Shop Boys sound to a fine level. There aren't quite as many cryptic wtf lyrics as normal, and this seems to have been produced for the masses. That's not a criticism. It's incredibly well done and ever so listenable. Is it a highly enjoyable album? Very. Is it their best set (for me) since Very? Yes...