You guys totally missed the real story with PSB remixing Madonna. You know they are coming out with a new album shortly and it's looking to be as brilliant as Very. They are also working with Trevor Horn on this...so I am very excited.

The current running order of "Fundamental", Pet Shop Boys' forthcoming album, looks like this at the moment (but they are still experimenting with it):

1. God willing
2. Minimal - the new single
3. The Sodom and Gomorrah Show
4. I'm with Stupid
5. Psychological
6. I made my excuses and left
7. Integral
8. Numb
9. Luna Park
10. Casanova in Hell
11. Twentieth Century
12. Indefinite leave to remain

the rest here is a review from popjustice...



OMG etc it's the best Pet Shop Boys album since 'Very'!

There are about a million reasons why, some of which include:

IT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH!

'I'm With Stupid' is about being in love with a "billion dollar kid" who's "obviously [so] dumb": "See you on the TV, call you every day, fly across the ocean just to let you get your way." What could it all mean, etc etc etc.

IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY!

'I Made My Excuses And Left' is a classic PSB boo-hoo-athon about walking into a room and realising two of your friends are in love with each other: "Each of you looked up but no-one said a word - I felt I should apologise for what I hadn't heard." '...Excuses...' is also notable for the line "The silence filled the room, awkward as an elephant".

IT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO HAVE A LITTLE DANCE!

Vital statistics time: on 'Fundamental' there are six upbeat songs, including three complete thunderers and two sort of vibey electro things. First single 'Minimal' is a vibey electro thing whose chorus is a Vocoderised chant of 'M-I-N-I-M-A-L'. The last 50 seconds of the song are everything New Order should be sounding like in 2005 instead of all that 'Waiting For The Dumper's Call' nonsense they were bandying around earlier this year.

IT'S HORNY, HORNY HORNY HORNY

The whole thing's been produced by legendary Lisa Stansfield producer Trevor Horn, meaning that 'Integral' has amazing 'Two Tribes' orchestra bangs and 'I'm With Stupid' sounds a bit like 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome'. No Glam Metal Detectives influence, sadly.

THERE'S ONLY ONE DUFF SONG

Taxi for 'Twentieth Century'!

IT'S BETTER THAN AEROSMITH

The big Diane Warren ballad 'Numb' is just completely heart-stopping and brilliant and if we had copied it to iTunes (which, EMI lawyers, we have obviously not done) it would have the highest play count of any song on the album. With the possible exception of...

OTHER SONGS ARE ABOUT VERY SERIOUS MATTERS INDEED

...'Integral', which is one of the best songs on the album and the one which came nearest to blowing the speakers on the Popjusticemobile on Monday evening. It has the belting chorus "If you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to fear / If you've got something to hide you shouldn't even be here". A little bit of politics for you there ladies and gentlemen.

CERTAIN SONGS RATHER LEND THEMSELVES TO HAVING QUITE GOOD VIDEOS

'The Sodom And Gomorrah Show' surely has to be a single. It kicks off with a spoken word intro (probably by Lovejoy if Trevor's up to his old tricks) of "Sun! Sex! Sin! Divine intervention, death and destruction! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sodom and Gomorrah show!", then careers into a Proper PSB-sounding anthem of the 'Metamorphosis' / 'New York City Boy' variety. Which is to say that it goes from "I lived a quiet life, a stranger to champagne, I never dared to venture out" to "it intrigued me when you called to say, 'Are you gonna go to the Sodom & Gomorrah Show? It's got everything you need for your complete entertainment and instruction'".

Seriously, this is a properly good Pet Shop Boys album.

That's duff as in dud, not Hilary, right?

And Diane Warren-like, rigggght?

Either way, I'm so excited. Any rough idea of a release date?

MendesCity said:

I hope Duff as in dud

I think in the next few months or so.

Great news. Thanks!

Let's hope so because I haven't been able to get into any
of their albums since "Very/Relentless".

I have to admit, I haven't even acquired copies of their
releases since "Very" since Bilingual seemed horrible at
first glance, what with the singles *shudder*

And Nightlife and Release didn't seem very good either as
I gave them a quick listen at a friend's house.

However, I did enjoy some of the later singles and there
was this tune on "Pop/Art" (I did buy that one) that was
rather splendid, I think it's called "Flamboiant"

Anyway, looking forward to this album a lot, I think it's
gonna be the first one I'll buy and it will no doubt trick
me into buying the ones I skipped as well...damnit...

west end girls is still my shit...i know it's old. shut up.

IstenSzek said:

I hear ya on that...Very was so good and Relentless...well let's say I tracked down the colored vinyl for a reason. Bilingual had me up to song 4 and then it fell to pieces...with the noted exception of Before.

I stopped listening for a LONG time.

Almost got Nightlife and then heard NYC boy and thought it was auful. They were making Auful Gay dance music and I just stopped caring. Release wasn't even interested. Until POPART put a bug up my butt and I actually exploreed what I was missing. I fell right back in love with them

Songs like

You only tell me you love me when your drunk
Don't know what you want but I can't give it any more
Closer to Heaven
For your own good
Vampires
London
I get along
Home and Dry

and there's like tons of unreleased tracks included on the singles/spec edition. I can say as album "wholes" I am not that impressed. But there is still a chock full of great PSB moments on the last 2 albums. They do need more that a fleeting listen, as that's when I dismissed them. You will find Nightlife is Very pt 2 and that Release is as odd and as somewhat rewarding as Behavior.

A comp from the last 3, will give you a great PSB album.

Is this like one of those 3121 fake track listings?

ok, I liked very, but I prefferred Release.

I'd like to see something that's a cross between release and Disco3.

AsianBomb777 said:

I never heard Disco 3. I saw it before I heard Release and it just didn't interest me..also it was the first to not have one of them on the cover, so I took that as a sign. Is it good? How does it hold up against the other 2 Disco Albums?

superspaceboy said:

It depends.
If your a pet shop boys purist, you may not like it at all.
The entire CD is designed to feel like a mix CD you'd hear at a house club.
Think old Moby (back in the early 90s) updated with the PSB's usual pop craftsmanship.
Home and Dry is really good on Disco3 though I prefer the version on Release.
Also, "Try it (try my love)" is great. But again, I like house music and wasn't that big a pet shop boys fan to begin with, so I dug it. It was the album that convinced me to buy the other ones (though I owned Very prior to all this).

I don't think PSB is given enough credit for the pop craftsmanship--I feel they're far better than Depeche Mode and other synth-pop type bands.

AsianBomb777 said:

OK so you don't know about the other DIsco albums. Disco 1 was just the 12" plus 2 b-side 12". Disco2 was out and out all dance in a continual mix. What was interesting was the cuts of the remixes they chose. It sounds like Disco3 is in that vein. I'll have to check it out. My favorite version of Home and Dry is the ambient version.

And yes, PSB is NOT given enough credit and very under rated for shaping the pop/electronic landscape as much as they did. Musically and LYRICALLY. I htink that this is because of the Gay Marketing that is behind them (which seemed to step up a notch after VERY) IMO DM fell by the electronic wayside after Violator. Not saying that that's bad, but for one the pioneering electronic pop acts out there is was a very wierd departure. But PSB should be recognized for changing fashion as well as the artwork that exists in their career. The way they market their music and package it needs to be noted as well.

For me thier counterparts are Erasure, which I feel have been producing the same music (even similar titles) since Cowboy. I know I can't feel them any more.

superspaceboy said:

You are sooo gonna have to share some music with me becuase I'm an oppotunist,a nd I'm charming.

AsianBomb777 said:

Nope - this is the real thing - the tracklisting comes from their official website.
They are looking at a release date of April 7th 2006.


Speaking of PSB - anyone heard their Battleship Potemkin score?

To me, the Boys have never released a "bad" album. Sure, there are albums I listen to more than others, but even their weakest material (I thought much of 'Bilingual' and 'Nightlife' was somewhat formulaic) is better than most other synthpop bands out there...

thedoorkeeper said:

No, I was wondering how it sounded.

Case said:

I love both those, especially Nightlife. They each have their clunkers, that glam-rock song and the horrific NYC Boy, but there's mostly great songs, even if they don't flow as well as the others.

MendesCity said:

I played that this evening. It is a very good PSB album. Kinda peters out toward the end, unless you like NYCB, then its a great ending. But they do have a sound and it comes out in that album.

superspaceboy said:

I've had that for months now and eventho I've listened to
bits of it, I still haven't been able to sit down and let
it all sink in.

These days you just get too much music from too many media
and nothing really gets a chance to stick.

I'm gonna boycot everything "new" in januari and try to do
all my downloads from last year justice.

IstenSzek said:

that happens to me as well. I dj so I am always hearing things and very little sticks past 5 listens.