Album Review: Pet Shop Boys

Living North: Issue 125

LISTEN UP: Pet Shop Boys - Elysium

One of the most successful duos in UK music history, Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe present their eleventh album, marking over a quarter of a century since their debut, ‘Please’. Having sold over 100 million records since, the synth-pop pair continue with their unmistakably electronic sound in ‘Elysium’. A woozy, ethereal production is the crux of the record, matching its nomenclature of a mythical Greek paradise, whilst a mix of optimistic anthems and unambiguously bitter lyrics form clear-cut peaks and troughs in the mood. Elysium’s debut single ‘Winner’ was released in July to coincide with Olympic fever, their own anthem of positivity and cheer in anticipation of a successful closing ceremony performance of 1984 hit ‘West End Girls’.

With almost saccharine lyrics, ‘Winner’ is remarkably contrasted by the cynical assertions on ‘Ego Music’, a sardonic caricature of celebrity culture, whilst the self-deprecating ‘Your Early Stuff’ is a satirical observation of Pet Shop Boys’ persistence in the music industry. The album seems age-conscious throughout: ‘Invisible’ describes the anxieties of being forgotten after years as the ‘life and soul of the party’, whilst ‘Requiem in Denim and Leopard Skin’ brims with nostalgic flashbacks of a hedonistic heyday. North Shields-born Tennant met bandmate Lowe in a hi-fi shop in London before discovering their shared love of dance music, and four number one singles, 22 top ten hits and three Ivor Novello Awards later, the pair enter the UK top ten album charts once more. With sleek production from Kanye West producer Andrew Dawson, Elysium is set to become a classic.

Out now (Parlophone)

TheLineOfBestFit.com Review: Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow

Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

by Olivia Swash on December 22, 2011 in Record Reviews

To deem the second installation of Kate Bush‘s 2011 comeback  a “Christmas album” would be more than a little off-target. Perhaps it’s Scrooge-like to deny its festive merit, but the seven-track collection is far from the novelty ‘I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day’ approach to a Christmas release. After all, there isn’t a jingle bell nor a flashing Santa hat in sight.

After Bush’s release of re-recordings earlier this year, 50 Words For Snow marks her tenth studio album after a six year hiatus. Whilst clearly standing its ground as a winter-influenced album, any of the more jovially twee aspects of the chilly months are firmly wrapped away. Every song, whether overtly or subtly, seems to tell a solemn tale with a lonely and melancholic ambiance running throughout. Nevertheless the record is anything but frigid; and drifts effortlessly in and out of a twinkly piano-based backdrop, its delicate vocals complemented by jazz-flecked drums.

Supporting vocals come from Kate’s son Albert “Bertie” on ‘Snowflake’, his celestially clear The Snowman-esque vocals contrasting with his mother’s breathy tones. Elton John and Stephen Fry also make foolproof cameos in ‘Snowed In at Wheeler Street’ and ’50 Words for Snow’ respectively; although the latter does come across as a little too predictable. Although comfortable on a bed of tribal beats, the track simply does what it says on the tin and little more. Ranging from the ordinary (“white-out”) to the graceful (“Wenceslas air”), the count-down of increasingly surreal terms seems to exist principally for the sake of justifying the album’s title.

The highlight of the album, ‘Lake Tahoe’ opens with a luscious operatic duet and sails off into beautiful lulling waves of warm, soft piano and sustained strings. This spacious tranquility contrasts with the song’s tale of a ghostly woman rising from the depths of the Californian lake “wearing Victorian dress”. Myth has it that Tahoe’s depths are lined with illicitly dumped bodies, perfectly preserved due to its extreme temperature.

A yellow spot in the more-or-less unblemished whole picture rears its head in the 13 minute long ‘Misty’. Whilst Bush’s vocal is refreshingly raw and gritty, a distinct awkwardness meets these slightly-too-literal depictions of a night of passion with a snowman. She leaves us no clues as to the reasoning behind the surreal fantasy, describing his mouth as “full of dead leaves / and bits of twisted branches / and frozen garden”. Prudishness aside, Bush doesn’t leave much to the imagination with this bizarre narrative, concluding with the universally-dismal lines of ”Sunday morning / I can’t find him / the sheets are soaking”… It could almost be the subject of a French & Saunders Christmas Special spoof, perhaps accompanied by a censored music video.

While the rest of the album fails to rise to the complexities of ‘Lake Tahoe’, 50 Words For Snow is another stepping stone away from the interpretive-dancing-in-a-field Kate Bush of yore. It proves her credentials of distinct maturity as well as exhibiting her ability to experiment successfully with deep-set and sombre but thoroughly captivating music.

Review for TLOBF: Tubelord – R O M A N C E

thelineofbestfit.com  Record Review  Tubelord - R O M A N C E

Happy-go-lucky Kingston-based rockers Tubelord return with their second studio full-length, along with a fourth band member and a newly honed rhythmic maturity that last year’s Aztec-inspired EP Tezcatlipōca narrowly lacked. R O M A N C E is a collection of jittery noise-pop ditties brimming with a sprightly energy, neatly encapsulating early Biffy riffs with the childlike optimism of Dananananaykroyd.

The growth from a twee fidgety trio through to a fledged and tangible electro foursome is reflected through the concept behind the album. Not that R O M A N C E can be described as a ‘concept album’ per se: there is no overt mystical vein or grand operatic tale running throughout, but the album’s methodical compilation is subtly intriguing. Lead vocalist Joseph Prendergast has rejected a conventionally emotive writing stimulus in favour of a complete lack of personal attachment to the lyrics. Rather than using egocentric references to relationships or even vague abstract depictions of events that hold meaning to him, the words are a hotchpotch of borrowed and adopted references from female poets throughout history. Prendergast defines this emotional disconnectedness as putting himself in the position of reader rather than writer.

But although it could be considered a lazy method of penning lyrics, the words as an essentially meaningless device means that Prendergast’s distinctive voice plays the part of just another instrumental layer in the unpredictable swoops of spacious intervals. The jigsaw of words, sometimes ‘re-wind and double-check that’s what he actually said’ phrases drawing you in (“Sun-tusk haze of golden / east will swallow your Comic Sans lover” – These lines alone cite the works of 6 poets over 3 decades, in case you wondered).

tubelord ≈ my first castle by tubelord 

 The new presence of fourth member and producer James Elliot Field is clear throughout, as the zany and sometimes theramin-reminiscent synths (‘My First Castle’ bordering on Clangers-esque blips and bloops) add a woozy Nintendo level, distinctly separating the sound from their debut Our First American Friends.

For the Poirot wannabes amongst you, the band have created a secret password-protected online index citing the references of dozens of writers from Sylvia Plath to Carol Ann Duffy alongside the lyrics. Only the eagle-eyed fans who spot the details hidden amongst the album artwork will be able to access the expansive appendix and figure out just where those odd lyrics you thought you heard have come from.

While edgy and chipper for the most part with a few deliciously dreamy lulls (’4T3′), the album is never boring. With the help of fans trusting enough to preorder so that the band could afford to create the album, it is the first release from Pink Mist – a collaborative music group made up of Scary Monsters, Holy Roar Records and Blood & Biscuits.

(Oooo!)