By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

TRACKLIST: Loneliness; Feel; Why Am I Dancing?; New London Boy; Dancing Star; A New Bohemia; The Schlager Hit Parade; The Secret Of Happiness; Bullet For Narcissus; Love Is The Law

Written in lockdown, this 15th Pet Shop Boys studio album bursts with reflection, introspection and liberation in equal measure.

• Read on for reasons including how this is the Boys’ best album since 1993’s Very

Standout track for us is New London Boy which Neil Tennant has described as happening between the 2nd and 3rd verse of arguably their most affecting song, Being Boring, where the singer reveals the diagnosis of his childhood friend Christopher Dowell, with whom he’d formed his first band, 70s folk-outfit Dust.

It contains a Grandmaster Flash-style rap reminding of the Boys’ 1986 worldwide number 1 West End Girls with Tennant describing the threat of standing out and the weapon a real-life Newcastle drag queen would arm herself with: ‘Skinheads will mock you, call you a fag, Last laugh is yours, there’s a brick in your bag.’

Its theme of escape to find acceptance and tribe will be familiar to anyone who has ever felt compelled to take that journey: ‘Who am I? And who will I turn out to be? I know where I have to go to unlock the secret of me’ and, later, on joyous arrival: ‘Are they girls or boys? Is everyone gay? Am I just kidding myself I’ll go all the way.’

Songs evoke former glories and, musically, the uptempo debut single and album opener Loneliness reminds us of the brassy New York City Boy as Tennant urges the subject of the song to find their own personal freedom: ‘Everybody needs time to think, nobody can live without love.’

2nd song Feel reminds us musically of Getting Away With It by Pet Shop Boys/New Order supergroup Electronic and took 20 years to complete which perhaps indicates an inability to surrender to the pure and simple lyrical romantic emotion previously expressed in Miracles from greatest hits album Pop Art.

We’ve read and listened to many Tennant/Lowe interviews during this album’s promotion and we’re particularly enjoying the prospect of mentioned new musical Naked, based on the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, which Why Am I Dancing? (‘When I’m here all alone’) is apparently from.

Elsewhere Dancing Star, a song of the month for us in April, chronicles gay ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev’s defection from Russia to the West during the Cold War evoking early 80s Madonna, A New Bohemia draws on the story of 70s queer conceptual art troupe Les Petitis Bon-Bons, who were affiliated with Lou Reed and Sylvester, while Love Is The Law channels Oscar Wilde’s post-prison stay in Nice, France, watching cruising on the Promenade de Anglais.

Tennant has memorably dubbed this Pet Shop Boys’ ‘queer album’ and, although in truth, there are such moments running through all of them where this description could be applied, it’s a welcome adjective.

Produced by James Ford, who has worked with many of our favourite artists including recently on The Ballad Of Darren by Blur, there’s a warmth to this collection perhaps due to the orchestra on all tracks in stark contrast to the electronics of the previous Stuart Price-produced trio.

It’s also the band’s 1st album for Parlophone since 2012’s Elysium and, while they’ve not enjoyed a top 40 hit since 2009’s Did You See Me Coming?, for us this is the band’s best album since the 1993 collection Very we came out to.

How queer indeed.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Pet Shop Boys Tickets
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