Record Review of the Week - Pet Shop Boys

Ola! Long time since I last rapped at ya. But I picked up the Pet Shop Boys' latest offering, 'Yes' last week and its been always on my mind ever since.

I bought it on a whim, intriqued by the band's curious sounding name - 'Pet Shop Boys.' But half way through the first spin, I had the unsettling feeling that I had heard this stuff before.

Check it out for yourself - Download this - 'Did You See Me Coming?' and ''The Way It Used to Be.'

Sound familiar? I thought so too. Then I remembered. My 'Lost' decade. It's all a bit of a fog now, but turns out I spent the majority of the '90s tripping the light fantastic (and getting high,) in all the chi-chi danceclubs in Berlin, Ibizia, Rio and Frankenmuth with a clique of like-minded quasi-decadent jet-setting fellow-minded Euro-trash.

On a hunch, I dug out my old rekidd collection. The one they took away from me years ago - just in case it might trigger a 'relapse.'

And sure enough, there they were. PSB - also known as The Pet Shop Boys. So I've spent the last few days listening to the latest one and the two other PSB CDs I own. Afterwards it all seemed clear. No wonder I liked 'Yes' so much - it was solid all the way through. EVERY song was great. It was all hits, no misses.

Comparatively speaking, when compared to my older PSB records, one could say that 'Yes' is somewhat reminiscent of their earlier 1990s CD 'Discography: The Complete Singles Collection' and the subsequent follow-up recording, 'Pop Art: The Hits.'

Just like back then, the Pet Shop Boys make all the right moves to get you to push all the living room furniture to the side and roll up the carpet. And they do so with such a Brit-sounding romantic world-weary ennui that they just may be the heirs-apparent of Bryan Ferry.

And speaking of danceably sardonic, next week's review will be a comparative critique of New Order's latest - 'Singles' and how it stacks up when compared to their other recording, 'Substance.'