Pet Shop Boys – Yes

Here is some advice on how to get maximum enjoyment from your Pet Shop Boys albums. Get yourself a birthing ball, one of those massive bouncy orbs pregnant women sit on to take away the baby weight. If you can't get hold of one, then look in your loft for a spacehopper, or straddle a fat bloke. Most Pet Shop Boys songs of any merit do that up/down up/down thing, and you'll soon find yourself merrily bobbing about in perfect harmony. Particularly with Yes, their 13th album, which sees them as poptastic as they've been in years.As I'm sure you are already aware, for this release production duties have been passed to the Xenomania team, the company responsible for Girls Aloud, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and, if Wikipedia is to believed, Shakin' Stevens of all people. Whilst original news of this may have resulted in many an arched eyebrow, it seems to have been a good move, the end result an album full of warm, melodious keyboard sounds, Tennant's voice silky smooth. His rich vocals practically sound like a keyboard anyway, full of atmospheric tones. Depeche Mode's new single is packed with sharp, discordant noises, but the keyboard lines put into service by Pet Shop Boys sound more like cloud clusters of bubbles popping in harmony, than any clatter and clank.This is most evident on lead single 'Love Etc.', which is lyrically strong and incredibly well produced. Also good is the frothy 'Did You See Me Coming?'. Seeing Johnny Marr's name on the credits comes as no surprise, as this song echoes in every way the output of his side product Electronic, right down to the early 90's feel of the guitar jangle. 'Pandemonium' also shines, with its Doctor Who bass-line and that bounce / bounce / bounce / bounce again. The silkiest keyboards of all though are on 'More Than a Dream', draping like shiny shimmery waves.Sometimes though, there is a sense of disappointment throughout the album, and you cannot help but feel under whelmed. 'All Over The World' is bombastically annoying, threatening to derail the album before it even begins, and "Building a Way" with its call and response is just daft. 'Legacy' tries very hard to be full of self-importance and grandeur but just goes round in circles, never reaching a conclusion. It's mostly better than Fundamental, but still falls short of their glory days. They are the 80's band who somehow manage not to be affiliated with the decade of their birth, but their best work still belongs to their first 10 years. 54%Pet Shop Boys Official Site