NONETHELESS - The reviews of the members of Pet Shop Boys Community

[Spittingcat]

After a few listens of the album straight through... I'd only make a few changes to my scores

Loneliness - 9/10 [ — ]
Feel - 9/10 [ — ]
Why am I dancing - 7/10 [ -1 ]
New London boy - 9/10 [ — ]
Dancing star - 9/10 [ +1 ]
A new bohemia - 8/10 [ +2 ]
The schlanger hit parade - 3/10 [ -1 ]
The secret of happiness - 9/10 [ -1 ]
Bullet for Narcissus - 8/10 [ — ]
Love is the law - 10/10 [ — ]

New London boy is begging for a harder remix. Dare we hope for a fourth single?
Dancing star really sits well on the album.
The secret of happiness would remain a 10 without the drums... they're less welcome on each repeated listen.
Love is the law is... well... hopefully a sign of where they might go in future. I'd give it 11 if that made any sense.

[daveid]

I suspect the poor ratings for Schlager are because some people don't realise it's a piss-take. It's like Ego music but far catchier. I think it'd be a great single which is why I know it won't be.

[oakey]

Boring. Like Hotspot, I will listen once and never again.

I wouldn't go that far, but I do agree there are too many slow songs verging on boring on Nonetheless. None of these are epic ballads unfortunately (apart from Happiness). Loneliness and Dancing Star are okay but did not overwhelm me als singles. For the rest Feel, Why am I dancing and The secret of happiness (nice orchestration) stand out for me. Schlager would be an okay B side. The rest is Release/Elysium type of stuff. Bohemia is the low point for me at this point. Not really my cuppa.

I do like the remakes on Furthermore, apart from the lazy remake of Always on my mind which should be forgotten immediately. Being Boring may be even better than the original (I do like the lyrics, but the original music is ...well... a bit boring).

don't like it that much till now, anyway I probably need more listens to judge properly. Production is phenomenal but, it's not the kind of music genre I like..as I did not like Hotspot's. Much more into Introspective, Electric and Super

Overall, I rate Nonetheless 7/10 (★★★½) which may even be on the high side. Time will tell, I am with rudynicoletti when it comes to the music genre. After a few listens it's slightly better than Hotspot, but that one had Monkey Bussiness which is the better single, but Hotspot also had Wedding which is much much worse than Bohemia IMO.

[ChoonHound]

Ironically, I’m finding both the PSB album and the Taylor Swift album equally boring considering Neil’s comments from the other night.

[matt74uk]

Loneliness - 8/10
Feel - 8/10
Why am I dancing - 9/10
New London boy - 8/10
Dancing star - 7/10
A new bohemia - 8/10
The schlanger hit parade - 8/10
The secret of happiness - 6/10
Bullet for Narcissus - 7/10
Love is the law - 6/10

I've be swapping out The secret of happiness with Through You and Love is the law with Sense of time and I've got a 9/10 album

[CroMagnon]

Loneliness - 8/10
Feel - 8/10
Why am I dancing - 9/10
New London boy - 8/10
Dancing star - 7/10
A new bohemia - 8/10
The schlanger hit parade - 8/10
The secret of happiness - 6/10
Bullet for Narcissus - 7/10
Love is the law - 6/10

I've be swapping out The secret of happiness with Through You and Love is the law with Sense of time and I've got a 9/10 album

Wow. To rate Schlager > Love is the law is just incomprehensible to me. PSB is a broad church.

[Ghost within this house]

I suspect the poor ratings for Schlager are because some people don't realise it's a piss-take. It's like Ego music but far catchier. I think it'd be a great single which is why I know it won't be.

I find Schlager rather affecting. There is a lot of meaning packed into:

The future is forever
Let’s not dwell on the past
Gesundheit to Europa
Let’s hope it’s going to last

That’s European history 1945-2016!

[boyjohn]

The whole thing clicked for me after about 3 listens. Really love the whole thing. The only song that tends to go on too long is The secret of happiness. A new bohemia is an instant classic as far as I am concerned.

[wieske]

The whole thing clicked for me after about 3 listens. Really love the whole thing. The only song that tends to go on too long is The secret of happiness. A new bohemia is an instant classic as far as I am concerned.

I totally agree. It took me about 4 listens to get into the "concept" of Nontetheless. The fifth time I had the opportunity to listen to the album with quality headphones and what can I say, Nonetheless is a masterpiece. No weak moments spotted on the album.

Neil & Chris, they just did it, again.

[Ghost within this house]

Where is Nickname? In a pit of despair listening to Bullet of Narcissus over and over again?

[telys]

I don't like the album. The vocals aren't good enough. I think I'd prefer an instrumental version or maybe it would end up as muzak. Dancing Star is the bright spot along with parts of Feel (the chorus), Neil's rap, large portions of Nonetheless and the music to Bullet for N. 3 of the b-sides are better. This is like a mix of Release and Elysium. But Elysium had a personality which Nonetheless lacks. Caveat: I still think there is a chance I will change my mind. But so far 5/10 and eons away from Bilingual (which might have become my favourite PSB album).

[ChoonHound]

Just listened to Furthermore (on YouTube). I hoy didn’t know it existed.

Heart: Fine, but why? The best of the bunch.
Being Boring: Horrible. Cheering automatically ruins a song for me.
Always on my Mind: Sounds cheap. And again, why?
It’s A Sin: Sounds like a fan remix.

[g_m]

So.. I've been a PSB fan since 86/87. I would obsessively collect all the formats, I've seen them dozens of time, skipped college to listen to PSB day when Very was released etc etc etc..

I've listened to the album in full without interruption four or five times now so I've got an idea of which tracks are my favourites and what will be skipped in the future.

The first thing I would say about this album is that there is no "ooomph" (and I do like some ooomph in my PSB songs). It's all very laid back and, dare I say it, "safe". But these chaps are knocking on 70 so they're entitled to be taking it easy.

When I first heard Loneliness and saw the artwork for the single and album I was getting serious Elysium vibes which was a worry as that is my least favourite PSB album. Not sure if Nonetheless now takes that crown..

My initial scores are:

Loneliness 6/10
Meh. Didn't grab me when I first heard it and still doesn't now.

Feel 6/10
For a band that is inspired by Kraftwerk, they've done well to go 40 years before doing their first overtly Kraftwerk sounding song.

Why Am I Dancing 9/10
My favourite on the album and for me goes down as a PSB classic. Love the brass at the start as well as the chord changes. Neil's best vocals on the album. Absolulety heartbreaking. The very defintion of what Neil and Chris call a "happysad" song.

New London Boy 5/10
I get West End girls was inspired by The Message and the rap in the middle is probaly a nod or a tribute, but was there any need to add the obvious synth hooks which make it completely obvious?

Dancing Star 6/10
First heard the clips weeks ago and thought "here we go, this is more like it". A tip of the hat to Please. Decent song but again, no ooomph.

A New Bohemia 6/10
File alongside Friendly Fire, I Get Along etc etc etc but nowhere near as good.

Schager Hit Parade 1/10
Some people love this, someone has said that it's an obvious pisstake. I don't think it is as why on earth would you put it in with all these other lush, "serious" songs. Absolutely awful and up there with Wedding In Berlin as one of the worst things they've ever done. I can only get to 1 minute and have to skip it at "Sexy, sexy, sexy".

The Secret Of Happiness 1/10
Doesn't go anywhere. Just drones on.

Bullet For Narcissus 7/10
Good strings, good vocals. Sounds like classic PSB which is probably why I like it so much.

Love Is The Law 6/10
Good piano, decent song but again, like the rest of the album just doesn't seem to go anywhere.

The Furthermore EP is pointless. I really didn't think that PSB would be the band that would do this kind of EP. With Very we were treated to Relentless! Surely Chris was coming up with some Techno Bangers during the lockdowns which they could have put out instead of this?

Nonetheless is well produced and sonically sounds good, but there just isn't any energy to the album. Maybe it's because they're in their 60's now and that's where they're at which is fair enough. Or maybe it's me wanting the PSB from the 80's and 90's with the driving synths, melodies and emotion.

Nonetheless 5/10.

[Remark]

[sorry for the double forum post but there are too many review / reaction threads now ]

A full day of listens and here are my reactions:

"Loneliness": One of their strongest openers. Perfect song to set the stage / tone of the album. Still wish we had remixes. 9/10

"Feel": Stunning track. The vocal that comes in ("I would never let you down, I will wait") is perhaps some of the most beautiful I've ever heard from Neil. And the melody in the verses is just so damn good. LOVE. 10/10

"Why am I dancing?": Another top track. Need a long version immediately! Perfect blend of dance beats and sadness. Definitely single material and an instant classic. 10/10

"New London boy": Another classic! I love the chill vibe, the sonic layers, the story! And the transition into and out of the rap section is just superb. Can't get enough. 10/10

"Dancing star": Agree with others that this sounds better in the context of the album. Still love how lightweight it sounds and also the hark back to the 80's vibe. A good single. 7/10

"A new bohemia": Beautiful, thoughtful, lush. Sits well in the album. I question its "single-worthiness" but am pleased nonetheless. It will make a great mini-film/video indeed. 7/10

"The schlager hit parade": Cute. Fun. Bouncy. Pet Shop ridiculousness. Reminds me of "Give stupidity a chance". Will likely grow on me. 6/10

"The secret of happiness": Agree with others, this is the other island in "Between two islands". Perfect for an afternoon or cocktail during the magic hour. I love this hue of PSB. 7/10

"Bullet for Narcissus": Still growing on me. Love the sounds and energy but feel it is missing more "oomph". Funny lyrics. I think a dancier version would be fun. 6/10

"Love is the law": This one is curious because I want to like it more than I seem to? Several of you have ranked it quite high. I like the darker tone...it's haunting. Love the strings. Not as strong of a closer as others have mentioned. I think it's going to grow over several listens. Let's see. 5/10

[rashomon]

Great review Remake!

Wonder if the mods can merge this with the main thread …