Pet Shop Boys

Elysium (EMI)

This reviewer spent most of the weekend bathing in the Pet Shop Boys’ eleventh studio outing, Elysium. It’s that kind of record. It literally washes over you. Produced by Kanye West’s collaborator Andrew Dawson the record is bereft of any stomping disco smash. Every tune is beautifully pitched in third gear. Chris Lowe’s synths are layered and sculptured to perfection. Occasionally there’ll be a stab of Kraut-lite angst, but nothing to upset the senses. Neil Tennant is in form. The lyrics deal with loss, facing your mortality and the life of aging pop star. Sarcasm, irony and a certain British detachment are delivered in equal parts. There’s a dry humour in much of the material: but, again, there’s the absence of any hit single. In some ways Elysium harks back to their best work. Maybe it’s something to do with pitching smart lyrics against the prior mentioned detachment. Still, for all of the production beauty: there’s a feeling that the zeitgeist has long since left the duo behind. Elysium doesn’t feel of its’ time. It feels like a polished relic from a different age. The songs are strong, but hardly magnificent. Winning feels like it was written to order: which we assume it was. If anything what PSB fans do have is another absorbing chapter in the life of the duo. Not to be missed by fans, but hardly essential listening for the curious.

[rating: 3/5]

Mitchell Peters