Pet Shop Boys Community

Always is a lovely tune and one of their best 21st century b-sides in my opinion.

Sammy Jenkis wrote: Mon 10 Aug 2026, 10:17 am Always is a lovely tune and one of their best 21st century b-sides in my opinion.

Totally agree

Always is one of my favourite b-sides for sure, I love it a lot. While I enjoy the music (despite it's slight weirdness), my favourite part about the song are definitely the lyrics. In my opinion, they are among Neil's most beautiful, and I love their comforting qualities. Thematically, it's something I can relate to very well, since year after year I'm feeling a little depressed about summer ending and winter coming way too soon - in fact, this thought has already been creeping up again during the last few days. Of course, you could probably also interpret these lyrics as a general metaphor for something good ending and a bleak period beginning, in which case I probably like them even more. Things may be bad now, and it could be like that for a while, but remember that summer comes, always.
A true happy-sad song. It is what they do best.

Another b-side that would have significantly improved Release. It is incredible that they could listen to such a strong song and think it was inferior to E-mail or TNIFIL.

Greetings,

Always is excellent... they curate such an interesting soundscape here.

If the arpeggio were played on an acoustic guitar with a bit of reverb, it would slot straight onto Release.

Retro.

A gorgeous song! I love it!

davidctecno wrote: Mon 10 Aug 2026, 6:34 am Track 158: Always
Chronology: Release FL CD1:12

A beatiful melancholic track. Revived during the Obscure concerts. It surpasses the acoustic approach of the *Release* album, highlighting its synthetic elegance.One of the best B-sides!

I love the math rhyme: "You go from A to B to C on demand like algebra or geometry diagrammed"

Indeed! It warms the cockles of my nerdy little heart.

I was a late convert to this one. I first heard it after buying Format and thought it was a bit of a letdown, sandwiched as it was between Sexy Northerner and Nightlife on my playlist. However, it would keep cropping up later on random play and I got to appreciate the quiet beauty of it. It's the aural equivalent of a Snuggie and a hot chocolate on a winter's day.

Mesmerising melody. If they are known masters of making sad lyrics sound happy, this time they turn the formula around and take the lyrics into a sadder song than they actually are. Album worthy.