Pet Shop Boys – Yes
The Pet Shop Boys are back with a new album inaptly named ‘Yes.’
The first song is the blatantly obvious single ‘Love etc.’ You can hear how it’s been produced to serve that just specific purpose and nothing else. It stands out from the rest of the album in that it’s the only really catchy song so it’s understandably bound to be the most popular. The lyrics are full of antimaterialistic clichés about not needing money or wealth or a house in Beverly Hills because all you need is love. Does that sound a bit familiar?
It wouldn’t be the only one. ‘Beautiful People’ deserves a mention. I dare you to listen to the chorus (“I want to live like beautiful people”) and not think of a certain bespectacled Britpopper and a rather successful 90s anthem. Then there’s ‘The way it used to be’ – another lyrically mundane track that only manages to pep things up for about 30 seconds by sneaking in a rip-off of the New Radicals’ ‘You get what you give.’ See, if you’re going to steal songs, you should know better than to target the ones everyone knows.
You might think it’s a bit unfair to chastise the Boys so much on the basis of lyrics. Surely as an electronic band we’re supposed to focus on the music and treat the lyrics as secondary. No, not with these fellows. Not when they’ve charmed you with the pleasantly cynical ‘Rent’ and everyone’s favourite ‘West End Girls’. If they must sacrifice lyrics, they could make up for it with an insanely unforgettable ditty a la ‘Go West’.
‘Building a wall’ starts a bit dubiously but picks up soon enough and is probably one of the better tracks on the album. ‘King of Rome’ deserves a mention as, apart from ‘Love etc.’, it’s the most memorable song on the tracklist. It’s easy to listen to and the lyrics are a definite improvement.
We close with ‘Legacy’ – PSB want us to know this is the grand finale. They may as well be holding neon signs over their heads.”That’s it, the end/but you’ll get over it, my friend” – these are the first words we hear mere moments into the song. Get over it, eh? I think I already am.
On Yes, the music is unremarkable and the lyrics are dull. It seems like PSB made a record simply for the sake of making a record. The whole album sounds like you’ve heard it somewhere already and that somewhere is not necessarily a Pet Shop Boys CD (or tape). Put a bit more heart into it, guys.
