Julian Howard - 10/5/2012

The Pet Shop Boys still exist and make albums. I had to say that because most people would probably struggle to name a single PSB album after 1993's Very. And it is true that even the greatest bands (and PSB are a great band) tend to have an 8-10 year sweetspot preceded and followed by less stellar work yielding on average one of two decent tracks per album. This spooling up and down period is hardly controversial - look at The Stones, U2, Depeche Mode, Madonna and so on. More recently, the tail end seems to have extended as bands live longer and cleaner lives and, perhaps, are more alive to the commercial possibilities of staying together, producing music and performing live for an extended period.

The Pet Shop Boys' eleventh studio album Elysium does much to challenge this model. Many fans have been breathlessly referring to 1990s Behaviour in describing it. For the rest of us, that basically means the tempo is a little more subdued than usual but the soundscapes beautiful and the lyrics witty and meaningful. Let's get the most obvious track - 'Winner' - out of the way first. Neil and Chris played this at the end of the Olympic parade in London in September and yes it's suitably rousing and anthemic.
But this is not really what Elysium is about. 'Leaving' and 'Requiem in Denim and Leopardskin' better typify the more introspective and intelligent feel of the album, with the latter's title reminding us that wit is never far from the surface with the Pet Shop Boys. Both are great tunes. 'Your Early Stuff' is clearly more autobiographical and self-deprecating, describing a washed out popstar whose more recent work fails to match his glorious past. The irony of this is that both this song and the album it's part of prove that the Boys' later stuff can more than hold its own.

As with most albums, there are one or two low points here but happily they don't detract from the rest. I will leave you to judge what those are. Other tracks have what I would describe as a high 'hurdle rate', i.e. you have to get over the first few verses to reveal a highly rewarding core. The suitably titled 'Give it a go' is just one of these. It starts a bit cornily but this eventually gives way to a moving and infectious plead for happiness. Chris Lowe's keyboard work here makes a huge difference and the track works brilliantly. Classic Pet Shop Boys succesfully evoked.

If you're looking for dancefloor stompers, well you won't find them here. Whether Neil and Chris deliberately chose a more mid-tempo tone for the album or whether they feel they are a bit too old for that sort of thing now, we just don't know. My guess is that they will come back in the future with something more energetic. For now though, Elysium is a mature work that rewards repeated listens. The well-crafted textures and sharply observant lyrics prove that these legends-in-our-midst remain on fine form.