Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Brit Music Scene

Brit Music Scene

Pet Shop Boys - ‘Love Etc.’ Video Review

Posted: 23 Mar 2009 06:12 PM PDT

There are very few artists who manage to survive more than a few years at the top of their game, especially in the pop genre. While rock music is timeless and bands can carry on seemingly forever (Rolling Stones), pop is somewhat different.

As its name suggests, pop is whatever is popular in the present, so what may have been successful yesterday is now regarded as retro. This means pop stars continually have to reinvent themselves. Madonna and Britney Spears immediately spring to mind.

Pet Shop Boys have been around for almost 30 years now, having started way back in 1981 (I was 4). And yet their music continues to sound relevant and cutting-edge, even if Neil Tennant’s voice does now make him sound like he’s constantly feeding on helium.

Their new single, Love Etc. is extraordinary for managing to sound brand spanking new and retro at the same time. So much so that when they played it at the Brit Awards last month, I thought it was a classic tune I’d missed in their back catalog.

Love Etc. sounds very much Pet Shop Boys. I can’t imagine anyone mistaking this for another group. And it’s fantastic, catchy, clever, and very addictive. At a stroke, Pet Shop Boys have rolled back the years and caught up with the sound of this generation.

The video is also new and cutting-edge, feeling like a cross between the animations from Monty Python and the video for Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out. Somehow, it fits the song perfectly, despite being nonsense at the end of the day.

Love Etc. is the first single to be released from Pet Shop Boys latest album, Yes, released today in the UK. On this evidence, the Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe story is set to carry on for a good few years. They’ve found their mojo once again.

Song: 9/10
Video: 8/10

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[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

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