Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[Birthday Boy]

I find Love is a catastrophe rather depressing, but almost in a beautiful way. I would say that it is a good song to play after heartbreaks. However, this means that I can't really stand it the rest of the time. Another one that I personally wouldn't normally choose to play - unfortunately, this is true for most songs on Release after London.

I do think that the lyrics are beautifully written, even though I find them incredibly dark and depressing. HappySad was mentioned above, and I would say that this song is unique for Pet Shop Boys because it seems nowhere near to having a happy component in it.

Finally, I like the way it ends. Might be my favourite part of the song (genuinly).

[Lleonard Pler]

It's not bad but certainly it's not a song I would choose to listen. Too depressing and drags for way too long. I don't think they have a song purely devastating on their discography, they usually draw some contrast, texture, irony or slight humour to balance things. Catastrophe is plain emo from beginning to end.

[Morse]

Greetings,

Track 144: Love Is A Catastrophe
Chronology: Release - Track 7

This is my least favourite song to listen to from the album. Amongst the unnervingly repetitive sounds, gloomy chords and vocal dirge, I find nothing particularly redeemable. In fact, it's so bad to my ears, I look forward to someone saying something nice about it, so I can look for those qualities in the song upon next listen.

Until then, this is a good one to skip.

Retro.

Probably one of the most literally honest and exposed songs Neil has written, lyrically.

Definitely the most beautifully morose and despairing Pet Shop Boys song. A proper wallow and part of a healing process for Neil. Fits well on Release, and the bleakness of the location it was recorded in certainly comes across.

As Neil and Chris said, Release as a whole was written as a direct attack on camp and an attempt to bury Go West. Love Is A Catastrophe certainly does that.

Beautiful.

[rathound]

The Jools Holland version is good, that really brings it to life.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Thanks for the comments on Love Is A Catastrophe. Unfortunately I find the relentless guitar arpeggio so dominating that I struggle to hear past it. So let's move on...

Track 145: Here
Chronology: Release - Track 8

There's a sweet song buried in here but it feels like it gets lost in the arrangement.

Track 145: Here (PSB New Extended Mix)
Chronology: Release FL-2:2

And here's a later arrangement as heard on Disco 3, but again, it feels like whatever was lost in the original arrangement is now even further from reach. The synth riffs and vocal effects sound out of place and silly.

Like London, this feels like the second real "missed opportunity" of the album. A good song that couldn't really find itself.

Retro.

[Disco.]

The Disco 3 version is excellent.

[leesmapman]

It's a potential stadium anthem. The Release version sounds a bit like "I want a dog" to me for some reason

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[telys]

Isn't there a similarity between the riff in Here and the infamous 'Theme For The Pet Shop Boys' (a track which I happen to really like)?

[NotInvisible]

"It's part of the process that you stumble as you climb" is just a great lyric. Just a wonderful song. Completely out of place on Release, but it would have been an all-time classic as a b-side.

[telys]

"It's part of the process that you stumble as you climb" is just a great lyric. Just a wonderful song. Completely out of place on Release, but it would have been an all-time classic as a b-side.

No, not particularly great lyrics within the framework of Neil's work, he's written heaps of better lines.

[telys]

Love is a catastrophe is overly pretentious. If they had swapped the lyrics for Samurai and LIACatastrophe, then it would've worked better. And thus shorteing the new LIAC to about 2 minutes.

[tottenhammattspurs]

Love Is A Catastrophe should be sung by Morrissey.
Imagine him singing it. It’d be a tragic masterpiece.

[Patrick Bateman]

Here is a relatively simple but affecting song. I agree with some of the previous comments; replace a couple of the tracks and Release is a very good album...and one of those is coming up next.

[Sammy Jenkis]

I love the version of Here that's on Disco 3. The album version is decent too.

[NOBODY75]

The album version is nothing special. But the *Disco 3* remix—oh man, that’s a whole different story. They turn something bland into a great electropop dance track