News / / 30.08.13

PET SHOP BOYS

ELECTRIC (x2)

16/20

One year on from their last effort Elysium, Pet Shop Boys have lost none of their energy. If anything they’ve gained a tad, substituting the pompous, self-righteous, bombastic pop of their previous effort for heavier beats, better songs and more instrumental, dance-oriented fare. This being Pet Shop boys, however, Electric is still pretty pompous and bombastic. But it’s also a stunning return to form from a band reinstating their love for pop and dance music. It even has a track featuring Example in which he’s not being an utter dick. Imagine that. He’s still on it though. Opener Axis is an absolute belter, a dancefloor-buckling, glitchy and surprisingly modern track which prove that although the boys are in their fifties, they’ve still got their finger near the pulse. Elsewhere Love Is A Bourgeois Construct is rooted in more familiar Pet Shop Boys territory – witty, incisive and utilising sampling with a self- aware ridiculousness that works extremely well. All the tracks here are excellent, and combined bare witness to a band remaining innovative without losing their identity. If Elysium saw them disgruntled, this is a record from a band who’ve never sounded so excited. It’s just annoying Example can attach his name.

 

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Words: Jon Clark

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