“Dancing to Roxy and Bowie”: Reviewing the Pet Shop Boys, Nonetheless

[Nina]

From Facebook:

“Dancing to Roxy and Bowie”: Reviewing the Pet Shop Boys, Nonetheless

EXCLUSIVE: It’s the Steve Pafford album review, innit.

As the Pet Shop Boys unveil their long-awaited fifteenth studio set, it might be too much to expect Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe to define our times as definitively as they did the 1980s.

Their first dozen or so hits — from the barren breakthrough of West End Girls (first released a staggering 40 years ago today) to the beautifully ruminative Being Boring — now appear to offer a blisteringly concise guide to Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, from big bang boom to tearstained bust.

Yet there are certainly occasional gems in the PSB’s post imperial output, too, and after a decade-long trio of albums on their own independent label, with Nonetheless the duo have returned to Parlophone to craft arguably their most varied album since the 1990s.

Let’s run through the tracks tonight.....

https://www.stevepafford.com/nonetheless/

[Nina]

Streaming details:

https://x.com/stevepafford/status/17777 ... 38355?s=46

[glennjridge]

Whoa! thanks for uploading this!

at first I didnt notice the track by track included. FINALLY someone describing each track!
I also love that he admits he wasnt crazy about loneliness. that kind of gives his review a sort of legitimacy he isnt some fanboy....and I love what I am reading!

especially on the couple tracks he describes as having a sort of 60-ish vibe to them. maybe it sounds like the orchestral pop on records by The Postmarks like no one said it would be easy.

this sounds like a beautiful and deep sounding album!

[Pinhead44]

Thanks very much for posting this, which makes a great read to have the first full track by track description.

I agree with glennjridge, it is almost reassuring to have them say they are not keen on Loneliness (though of course I disagree ).

[daveid]

Anyone get the feeling Schlager might be the third single?

[herts101]

Lovely to see TechnoTranceMix mentioned as well. RIP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nina]

Lovely to see TechnoTranceMix mentioned as well. RIP.

Is that the correct spelling of his real name btw?

Neil will be on the Word in Your Ear podcast soon.
https://twitter.com/davidhepworth/statu ... YdM0w&s=19

And I guarantee you the word that Neil recalls Bowie using about MJ will almost certainly begin with a 'R' and end with 'T.'

Are you still wondering how or why journalists are given albums in advance?

[drunk14]

It says nothing album his emotions towards the alvum except of some comments on Loneliness, grower relationship with Feel and some thoughts on Dancing Star. Well, perhaps this is how it should be

[Lleonard Pler]

Orchestra apart, sounds like they more diverse / eclectic album since Bilingual.

[Ghost within this house]

Interesting he describes Why am I dancing? as a 'euphoric four-on-the-floor synth banger, with bells, whistles and a smattering of electro bleeps'...
going back to Laura Snapes in the Grauniad, it appears she describes the song as a re-working of a ballad from the upcoming musical Naked; clearly the version on Nonetheless is NOT a ballad, but there is a ballad-y version of the song out there, which we will presumably hear in due course.

[jasonjohn]

Wow, top review. This album sounds right up my alley.

[Ghost within this house]

This is where I get sort of obsessive, but I'd suggest, putting together the shreds of information we have so far, that this is not quite the ballad-heavy album we'd been led to expect:

Loneliness - fairly upbeat disco stomper
Feel - ballad but with a beats-filled climax
Why am I dancing? - four-on-the-floor synth banger
New London Boy - electro hip-hop/mid-tempo
Dancing Star - upbeat dance pop
A new bohemia - piano / strings mid-tempo
The schlager hit parade - upbeat eurodisco
The secret of happiness - ballad
Bullet for Narcissus - House banger
Love is the Law - mid-tempo?

So, it looks more or less like it's '6 up, 4 down'.
Crude analysis, but wiles away another 15 minutes...

[Nina]

Interesting he describes Why am I dancing? as a 'euphoric four-on-the-floor synth banger, with bells, whistles and a smattering of electro bleeps'...
going back to Laura Snapes in the Grauniad, it appears she describes the song as a re-working of a ballad from the upcoming musical Naked; clearly the version on Nonetheless is NOT a ballad, but there is a ballad-y version of the song out there, which we will presumably hear in due course.

Depends what you class as a ballad. I don't think of Kings Cross or The End Of The World or A Red Letter Day or The Survivors or Here as traditional ballads. This new track is more Go West-like.

[Nina]

Anyone get the feeling Schlager might be the third single?

That or Why Am I Dancing?

HA, I wondered when someone else was going to spot that one. It's practically the first thing that comes up in the defection story. Perhaps this is a deliberate attempt to get us all to fact-check and not take things for granted? Nah, it's probably just a c***-up. Lots of airports in Paris. Very confusing. Yeah. That's it.

I imagine he watched the documentary about Nureyev and then wrote the lyrics assuming it was Orly. And Neil being a history grad too...

You are beautiful people, Sean. All three of you.

There's enough material there for an entire conference.

[Nina]

on the couple tracks he describes as having a sort of 60-ish vibe to them. maybe it sounds like the orchestral pop on records by The Postmarks like no one said it would be easy.
this sounds like a beautiful and deep sounding album!

More than a couple, but does the Postmarks reference still hold water?