New album Nonetheless

[Kiran]

I felt similar about the last 3 albums which were a bit 'meh' for me overall, however I adore nonetheless and personally thinks it's a major return and I have 'my' PSB back.

Agree 100% about furthermore though.

I feel for you. That would be disappointing. I loved the Stuart Price era, a lot of fun, well produced material from this long era.

I rarely like a PSB album on its own, I usually like half or more of the album and then enjoy about half of the b sides. I have about 200 songs by PSB that I listen to here and there, which is a lot more than most artists I enjoy but compared to the Pets output it’s not that much.

I became aware of the boys when Fundamental came out and then slowly absorbed their discography. Very has always been one I didn’t understand. I don’t enjoy the songwriting and the production is so loud and dated. I like urban Pet Shop Boys.

Anyways, so after the ups and downs of Yes and Elysium I found the Stuart Price era fresh! Though not without its flaws, my version of these albums are very different than the originals. But each era usually has an album worth of solid songs, even if they aren’t all on the album.

Nonetheless is like Very to me. The production is just terrible, compared to most any mainstream artist. And compared to any song produced by Stuart Price. I was hoping Neil and Chris would have gotten him to produce one of their slower albums. Sad Robot World and Burning the Heather are more sonically interesting and beautiful than anything on Nonetheless.

I’m really hoping we get a third and fourth single, which means some more b sides and remixes.

"the production is terrible"

I stopped reading there. You are delusional - James Ford is recognised as one of the leading producers in the world today (this is a simple statement of fact).

Anyone with the slightest bit of music production knowledge would listen to Nonetheless and conclude that it's exceptionally well produced - in alignment with the sonic vision for the album they have already articulated (warm, analogue electronics with space to breathe + strings).

What you really mean is "I don't like it". That is NOT the same as "It's badly produced".

While everyone is entitled to an opinion, the force with which some people express utter nonsense continues to surprise me. Absolutely zero self-awareness.

The force which you have replied seems stronger than the person you are replying to, just saying.....

[jamie1978]

I feel for you. That would be disappointing. I loved the Stuart Price era, a lot of fun, well produced material from this long era.

I rarely like a PSB album on its own, I usually like half or more of the album and then enjoy about half of the b sides. I have about 200 songs by PSB that I listen to here and there, which is a lot more than most artists I enjoy but compared to the Pets output it’s not that much.

I became aware of the boys when Fundamental came out and then slowly absorbed their discography. Very has always been one I didn’t understand. I don’t enjoy the songwriting and the production is so loud and dated. I like urban Pet Shop Boys.

Anyways, so after the ups and downs of Yes and Elysium I found the Stuart Price era fresh! Though not without its flaws, my version of these albums are very different than the originals. But each era usually has an album worth of solid songs, even if they aren’t all on the album.

Nonetheless is like Very to me. The production is just terrible, compared to most any mainstream artist. And compared to any song produced by Stuart Price. I was hoping Neil and Chris would have gotten him to produce one of their slower albums. Sad Robot World and Burning the Heather are more sonically interesting and beautiful than anything on Nonetheless.

I’m really hoping we get a third and fourth single, which means some more b sides and remixes.

"the production is terrible"

I stopped reading there. You are delusional - James Ford is recognised as one of the leading producers in the world today (this is a simple statement of fact).

Anyone with the slightest bit of music production knowledge would listen to Nonetheless and conclude that it's exceptionally well produced - in alignment with the sonic vision for the album they have already articulated (warm, analogue electronics with space to breathe + strings).

What you really mean is "I don't like it". That is NOT the same as "It's badly produced".

While everyone is entitled to an opinion, the force with which some people express utter nonsense continues to surprise me. Absolutely zero self-awareness.

The force which you have replied seems stronger than the person you are replying to, just saying.....

Ad hominem. I don't care.

[Patrick Bateman]

I really dont ever understand the general distaste for Yes. I think it's so brilliant.
Love Etc
Minimal
King Of Rome
The Way It Used To Be
Pandemonium
Did You See Me Coming
All Over The World
More Than A Dream
Legacy
This Used To Be The Future

I'm not keen on Building A Wall, Vulnerable or Beautiful People but tyre decent enough.
I think the album is their most consistent since Very and since.
It's pure quality.

Yes, we were rating their albums on Zeus's forum and Yes is definitely their strongest album post-Very. So many brilliant tracks. Minimal is Fundamental though.

[WICKFORDBOY]

well i am just a simple man who has clicked onto 6th decade and the more i play this the more this is the soundtrack to people like me letting go of the past and moving onto the senior years i think the album is fantastic and potentially their best since very !! its an album that takes the path of we not so young but we still here making relevant music

[psbfannyc]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6i7sMTLKWz/

[psbfannyc]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6dY-xYrzpA/?img_index=1

[dio2005]

Has anyone in Australia received their vinyls and cds from the Warner Music Australia Store?

Today I received Dancing Star cd single only

[psbfannyc]

#14 in the USA (https://www.billboard.com/artist/pet-sh ... story/tsl/)

[Ramzy]

#14 in the USA (https://www.billboard.com/artist/pet-sh ... story/tsl/)

I don't think this is right unfortunately - the album chart is the Billboard 200, where I can't see Nonetheless at all. I think 'top album sales' is just physical and digital sales, excluding streaming, like similar specialist 'sales only' charts in other countries.

[Andie]

Has anyone in Australia received their vinyls and cds from the Warner Music Australia Store?

Today I received Dancing Star cd single only

I received my Nonetheless double CD last week.

[somdigital]

I've already heard Nonetheless more times than Elysium all these years.

[bongsteve]

I'm surprised Erasure have had so many fewer top ten albums. I know they had four number one albums to PSB's one, but their sales have really have dropped off the last couple of decades, haven't they? I blame pughie.

I consider myself a pretty big erasure fan, not PSB big, but a fan nonetheless (see what I did there?)

Erasure's biggest issue is just lack of quality/consistency and some missteps along the way. To my ears, they were very good all the way up through and including Cowboy.

Loveboat (2000) - major misstep
Other People's Songs (2003) - felt desperate, mostly a miss
Nightbird (2005) - nice solid album
Union Street (2006) - absolute garbage
Light at the End of the World (2007) - not a fan favorite but really good to my ears, some great tracks
Tomorrow's World (2011) - very meh
Snow Globe (2013) - A mostly holiday album but some non-holiday stuff ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Violet Flame (2014) - a little uneven but some decent tracks
World Be Gone (2017) - just terrible
The Neon (2020) - probably the most Erasure sounding album in a while but nothing overly memorable
Day-Glo (Based on a True Story) (2022) - Vince was bored

Ultimately, Erasure just haven't been able to keep the consistent quality that PSB has AND I've always felt that PSB has done enough varying stuff to feel different but still distinctly PSB. Erasure, well, just always sounds like Erasure.

Well, not all agree with you...
(from allmusic)


I also don't agree with you regarding their later work. Loveboat, Other People's Song and Union Street are misses indeed and for Snow Globe, well I consider it a novelty album. However, their regular album output from Light at the End of the World is very consistent imo. These albums also got excellent reviews (at least in Europe). And Day-Glo is one of their best, even though it's based on The Neon.

(at allmusic they're also PSB fans btw. Interesting to compare their reviews from artist like PSB, Erasure and Kylie to those of 'serious' artists like Eurythmics or Pink Floyd)

It's ok not to agree. Just my personal opinion of the albums.

[britboy]

Nonetheless is their best album since Yes, I'm totally captivated, it's been a long time since I've felt this emotional about their music, it feels like a reunion, having been a fan since 1986. The essence of their songwriting is completely here, New London Boy brings me to tears, seeing as I have a similar history. It's among my favourites, they also include Feel and The Secret of Happiness, which is absolutely brilliant. They might have been on a journey with Stuart Price but this album shows why I loved the guys music in the first place.

[lalolalo]

I thought I might spend a few days without listening to it.
Not only for checking if I missed it, but also to see if when I'd listened to it again the hype wasn't as high.

I can confirm I missed it, and I kept singing parts of it out of the blue.
And then today I listened to it again.
Wow.
I mean, I still het goosebumps with Love is the law. I felt pretty happy listening to Schlager.
Feel, even Narcissus. And of course Bohemia.

It's overwhelming how beautiful this album is.

It's up there. with the giants. I mean Very and Behavior.
I couldn't compare it to Behavior or Very fully mainly because I'm not the same person.
That guy who listened to Behavior was a teenager full of uncertainties. Behavior helped and was the clutch I needed to keep walking and break through.
I wouldn't be here without behavior, and then Very reassuring everything. When I think of Very I can't do it not counting Discovery. Traveling with my best friend for the first time in my life seeing them live.

Now I'm a grown up, more secure, a completely different person.
Behavior and Very are for many of us much more than music, so how can you compare?

But when I listened to Nonetheless sometimes I think I kind of feel the same as I did back then.
Anyways...

[Gabby]

Received my 2 disc Japanese edition. I got the one with the printed card/printed signatures. It's quite nice. Still intrigued by the mega jacket. I just can't picture it somehow - if it's bigger than the CD, what's taking up the rest of the space?