Any news on James Ford album?

[verbow79]

Album was finished over summer and crickets since. Any news anywhere? Bueller, Bueller?

[Dog]

“Their yet-to-be-named, 15th studio album is being produced by James Ford and scheduled for release in April 2024 which also marks 40 years since the first Pet Shop Boys record was released.”

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... 058683.amp

[jasonjohn]

OK time to start planning how I will listen lol

Ignore any leaks? Ignore the inevitable promotional single? While running? With my eyes closed in a dark room alone? Naked? At a listening party? In the bath? On a roller coaster?

[verbow79]

I’ll be grateful for any new material as Neil is already around 70, but part of me is concerned about Ford’s production. Not a big fan of his output with other bands. Hoping for the best. Got my hopes up with Andrew Dawson, and that turned out to be a disaster.

[Nicholas]

I suppose the drip-feed for advance info/releases for this one will probably be similar to how it played out for Super, ie news in late January (though maybe without the odd but endearing cryptic teaser campaign).

There does seem to be a thing with heritage acts now where the pre-release period goes on forEVER, presumably to maximise physical sales etc. They could drop a press release just before Christmas (they did with Yes!) but it makes more sense to wait until Jan when everyone’s lives are utterly cold and grey and the new news news will be more enthusiastically devoured.

[Nicholas]

I suppose the drip-feed for advance info/releases for this one will probably be similar to how it played out for Super, ie news in late January (though maybe without the odd but endearing cryptic teaser campaign).

There does seem to be a thing with heritage acts now where the pre-release period goes on forEVER, presumably to maximise physical sales etc. They could drop a press release just before Christmas (they did with Yes!) but it makes more sense to wait until Jan when everyone’s lives are utterly cold and grey* and the new news news will be more enthusiastically devoured.

*except the Australians and South Africans and South Americans, obv.

[telys]

“Their yet-to-be-named, 15th studio album is being produced by James Ford and scheduled for release in April 2024 which also marks 40 years since the first Pet Shop Boys record was released.”

Oh, maybe there'll be a bonus disc with the old Bobby O-recordings

[Danimal]

I have to believe there is such a long interval between finishing the record and releasing it (the longest of their career; it’s usually four to six months) because they are making another album to release shortly after this one. With “Elysium” they had written two albums in different styles simultaneously and released them ten months apart. They did say with this latest they had two albums worth of material written. When they’ve made a statement like this in the past, it has always meant they have two releasable albums of material and not just 20 or 24 tracks total. As this one is mooted to be more song-based, I’m hoping they’re preparing another that’s a banger.

[Nicholas]

I have to believe there is such a long interval between finishing the record and releasing it (the longest of their career; it’s usually four to six months) because they are making another album to release shortly after this one. With “Elysium” they had written two albums in different styles simultaneously and released them ten months apart. They did say with this latest they had two albums worth of material written. When they’ve made a statement like this in the past, it has always meant they have two releasable albums of material and not just 20 or 24 tracks total. As this one is mooted to be more song-based, I’m hoping they’re preparing another that’s a banger.

I’d love to believe this but I do think there was a lot of f*** up scheduling and timings due to the various tours being messed around by the pandemic and those commitments being caught-up with and so on which may have led to this big gap.

Although this second album could be a big stack of lockdown songs which they found themselves unexpectedly in a position to start knocking together. Sourdough Pet Shop Boys could be fun.

[df118junkie]

I suppose the drip-feed for advance info/releases for this one will probably be similar to how it played out for Super, ie news in late January (though maybe without the odd but endearing cryptic teaser campaign).

There does seem to be a thing with heritage acts now where the pre-release period goes on forEVER, presumably to maximise physical sales etc. They could drop a press release just before Christmas (they did with Yes!) but it makes more sense to wait until Jan when everyone’s lives are utterly cold and grey* and the new news news will be more enthusiastically devoured.

*except the Australians and South Africans and South Americans, obv.

*and Hawaii and the lower Pacific rim etc., obv.

[telys]

I have to believe there is such a long interval between finishing the record and releasing it (the longest of their career; it’s usually four to six months) because they are making another album to release shortly after this one. With “Elysium” they had written two albums in different styles simultaneously and released them ten months apart. They did say with this latest they had two albums worth of material written. When they’ve made a statement like this in the past, it has always meant they have two releasable albums of material and not just 20 or 24 tracks total. As this one is mooted to be more song-based, I’m hoping they’re preparing another that’s a banger.

I’d love to believe this but I do think there was a lot of f***** up scheduling and timings due to the various tours being messed around by the pandemic and those commitments being caught-up with and so on which may have led to this big gap.

Although this second album could be a big stack of lockdown songs which they found themselves unexpectedly in a position to start knocking together. Sourdough Pet Shop Boys could be fun.

I guess there are a few things they worked on:
Chris wrote som classical stuff (only Cricket Wife or something else?)
Chris wrote a lot of stuff
Neil revisited his 70's songs
They've been dabbling in some ballet stuff or similar
Probably some more things as well

[Nicholas]

I suppose the drip-feed for advance info/releases for this one will probably be similar to how it played out for Super, ie news in late January (though maybe without the odd but endearing cryptic teaser campaign).

There does seem to be a thing with heritage acts now where the pre-release period goes on forEVER, presumably to maximise physical sales etc. They could drop a press release just before Christmas (they did with Yes!) but it makes more sense to wait until Jan when everyone’s lives are utterly cold and grey* and the new news news will be more enthusiastically devoured.

*except the Australians and South Africans and South Americans, obv.

*and Hawaii and the lower Pacific rim etc., obv.

*and all the penguins, obv.

[jules]

OK time to start planning how I will listen lol

Ignore any leaks? Ignore the inevitable promotional single? While running? With my eyes closed in a dark room alone? Naked? At a listening party? In the bath? On a roller coaster?

First reading a review then listening to any new thing coming. I wonder what the design will be. They did a lot of geometric things as well as a rather wise cover for hotspot.
This time what could it be ?

[telys]

OK time to start planning how I will listen lol

Ignore any leaks? Ignore the inevitable promotional single? While running? With my eyes closed in a dark room alone? Naked? At a listening party? In the bath? On a roller coaster?

First reading a review then listening to any new thing coming. I wonder what the design will be. They did a lot of geometric things as well as a rather wise cover for hotspot.
This time what could it be ?

Hotspot was probably the worst album cover of theirs. Since we agreed on the album title as "Impulse" my guess is there will be something about light impulses or something about blood pulsating.

[Nicholas]

The design is as exciting to me as the music these days and, yeah, I didn’t mind the Hotspot cover but the way it was carried through the rest of the sleeve didn’t do it for me.

I kind of appreciated the ‘title and artist credit in tiny lettering in the corner like a magazine photo caption’ thing and it was sort of nice that all the photography was theirs, but the photos were not very interesting and felt like they had very little consistent through-line except ‘WE ARE BERLIN’. Although the Burning the Heather sleeve was kind of great.