Pet Shop Boys Community

Integralist wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 7:51 pm They've really lost their way with a melody. Yes, the 80s-sound and self-referencing stuff is cute, but the melody is so nothingy and limp. Another dud.

I'm no more enamoured with the b-sides either.

I think petheads have been saying this since the second psb album.

BlueSwan wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 2:21 pm Let's face it, Neil's voice has deteriorated massively recently. That is always going to hurt the new recordings, unfortunately.

Anyway, the new single sounds like a B-side from the Please or Actually eras. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, but it does definitely sound "under-produced" or "like a demo" as others describe it.

I didn't notice it in Loneliness but it's hurtful obvious in Dancing Star, even in the spoken parts.

I feel like Dancing star could be a new west end girl. I miss 2 minutes more with a disruptive part, where Neil would do a grand masterflash crazy speech then came back to the song.
What i didn't expect is that the basic part of the song would be more catchy than the chorus itself.

jules wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 8:09 pm I feel like Dancing star could be a new west end girl. I miss 2 minutes more with a disruptive part, where Neil would do a grand masterflash crazy speech then came back to the song.
What i didn't expect is that the basic part of the song would be more catchy than the chorus itself.

The best part of the song is the second verse of the song. It sounds more melodic than anything else.

Lleonard Pler wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 8:02 pm

BlueSwan wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 2:21 pm Let's face it, Neil's voice has deteriorated massively recently. That is always going to hurt the new recordings, unfortunately.

Anyway, the new single sounds like a B-side from the Please or Actually eras. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, but it does definitely sound "under-produced" or "like a demo" as others describe it.

I didn't notice it in Loneliness but it's hurtful obvious in Dancing Star, even in the spoken parts.

What’s weird is that Neil’s vocal performance in Sense of time is/sounds so much better/stronger.

I’ve also noticed that in the Solomun Remixes Neil’s vocals are mixed more to the front which is good whereas in the original track they’re sometimes somewhat buried in the overall sound.

m+

The single mix is over too quickly at only 3:01 minutes. There is a hint of Madonna's "Holiday" about it.

Loving the Solomun extended remix and the b-sides.

Sense Of Time has that sweet sweet deep bass, just like Leaving (PSB Freedom Mix) somewhere halfway.

Feeling really spoiled that they still release quality stuff in 2024.

jules wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 7:08 pm

ChoonHound wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 3:37 pm Sense of Time is the single

Dancing Star is the b-side


They got it backwards.

It's true that even with the strings in the back, sense of time and jesus seems to have an heavier production.

In this day and age of Spotify it doesn't much matter. I guess Dancing Star is intended to be the "hook" to draw you into the rest of the "EP", but really there's no such thing as an A side or a B side anymore is there?

NikacP0kac wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 8:39 pm Sense Of Time has that sweet sweet deep bass, just like Leaving (PSB Freedom Mix) somewhere halfway.

Feeling really spoiled that they still release quality stuff in 2024.

Indeed. I love all three tracks from this release. Incredible to think they are still delivering top drawer songs like these 40 years later.

Brilliant single package here, but to start with the bad news... Dancing Star is probably their dullest single since Numb. The retro sounds are nice, but take them away and the song just doesn't do anything for me. Between this and (the superior) Loneliness, I have to admit I'm slightly worried about the album - probably the weakest pair of pre-release singles in their discography. But then again I didn't think much of Dreamland and yet Hotspot was pretty great, so we'll see. Hopefully there are better songs buried in there.

But on the plus side... the two new b-sides are great! We're really spoiled, aren't we? I can't even think of many groups that still record b-sides at all, let alone of this quality. The remixes are solid if unremarkable. The extended mix in particular is a nice addition.

Where the side really falls down I think is the production. Neither single impresses me much on that score, and with both being on the weaker end of the PSB singles spectrum - despite plenty of amazing tunes coming from our Boys over the last few years - I'm beginning to wonder if Stuart Price's drive was what kept the trilogy so tight while James Ford keeps a longer leash with less of an ear for hooks and quality. I know Neil and Chris still have it, their recent output has been great! But some of the choices perhaps aren't as melody-minded as in the past.

Cautiously optimistic about the album, there's sure to be a few gems in the mix. There always is.

panda magic wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 6:40 pmthe verses remind me a little of "The Pop Kids" in that they sound like Neil wrote the lyrics first and then tried to squeeze them into a melodic structure afterwards. So you end up with some awkward phrasing where certain words feel rushed so that everything will fit within a line, giving everything an "improvised on the spot" vibe. Compare that to the measured intentionality of "Rent" or "Dreaming of the Queen" where it feels like there's a more harmonious relationship between lyric and melody.

I have to agree the "lyrics-then-melody" approach hasn't necessarily yielded the best results.

To be honest i hoped for something like Ghosts again when i heard that they Work with James Ford. loneliness was very good but not as powerful and inspired as the lead single from Depeche Mode imho.

NotInvisible wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 9:16 pm

panda magic wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 6:40 pmthe verses remind me a little of "The Pop Kids" in that they sound like Neil wrote the lyrics first and then tried to squeeze them into a melodic structure afterwards. So you end up with some awkward phrasing where certain words feel rushed so that everything will fit within a line, giving everything an "improvised on the spot" vibe. Compare that to the measured intentionality of "Rent" or "Dreaming of the Queen" where it feels like there's a more harmonious relationship between lyric and melody.

I have to agree the "lyrics-then-melody" approach hasn't necessarily yielded the best results.

Chris is perhaps doing too much of the work on the music and melodies.

Nickname wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 8:22 pm

jules wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 8:09 pm I feel like Dancing star could be a new west end girl. I miss 2 minutes more with a disruptive part, where Neil would do a grand masterflash crazy speech then came back to the song.
What i didn't expect is that the basic part of the song would be more catchy than the chorus itself.

The best part of the song is the second verse of the song. It sounds more melodic than anything else.

The intro is maybe the best part. And yes, I miss another 2 minutes of messing around with the track. Minus the atmospheric intro and outro DS is only about 2:45. Sad that it has come to this. Reminds me of Blossoms which do only 3 minute tracks while there's enough content in the songs to let them stretch out to at least 5 minutes.

S-sense wrote: Wed 03 Apr 2024, 9:23 pm To be honest i hoped for something like Ghosts again when i heard that they Work with James Ford. loneliness was very good but not as powerful and inspired as the lead single from Depeche Mode imho.

Fortunately there were no tragic events in the PSB camp, I think that influenced DM an awful lot to write some of the best stuff of the last 20 years.

Why more of the same if you can have two quality but different things - nothing on Memento Mori comes close to the melancholy and euphoria that Loneliness offers.

P.S. I am first and foremost a Depeche Devotee, only then a Pethead.