Pet Shop Boys
Release
Returning with their 8th studio album, the Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have added the familiar face and guitar of Johnny Marr to 7 of the 10 tracks on the album. That by itself should change the direction of the album but instead of going for a harder and more aggressive album, the Pet Shop Boys have decided to show a more refined and mature side of themselves that we haven't seen since Behavior.The album opens with the first single "Home And Dry" which is by-and-far the best song they've recorded in ages. When I heard the background music to the track on their Web site during a visit, I overlooked it as their version of elevator music. Amazingly simplified and lush textures... beautiful. You hear the term Beatle-esque used a lot but "I Get Along" is a subdued Oasis/Beatle-esque arrangement that I can mentally hear Noel Gallagher singing it while on a baby grand. Seems like the effects of Cher's "Believe" vocal production was not lost on the Pet Shop Boys' "London." The song could have been just a beautiful acoustic ballad but the vocal effect and some creative mixing make it even better. Without Marr's guitar-work songs like "Birthday Boy," "Love Is A Catastrophe" and "You Choose" either would not have happened or would have been dance tracks. The love anthem "Here" for some reason reminds me of an unmessy car accident between a PSB chorus and an Erasure verse where both cars wind up wearing each other's paint and look good in it.
Aside from "The Night I Fell In Love," I was amazingly surprised and delighted with Release. Tennant is possibly at his best lyrically and comes across as a more confident vocalist. This is a triumphant moment musically for a band that just keeps getting better.