By Michael Riches
Issue 82 - May 2009

 Pet Shop Boys
Yes

Parlophone

While most bands this old are lucky to get gigs at carnivals and casinos, here are two guys in their mid-fifties, 25 years after their debut, doing some of their best work. That may be an odd thing to say about a group that many consider to be mere purveyors of dance music, but that makes the Pet Shop Boys even more remarkable – no one has ever done synth-pop more artfully. That’s partly because Neil Tennant, aside from having one of the sweetest voices in pop music, is one of the best modern-day lyricists, taking a sugar-coated song and spiking it with a poetry that sometimes sticks where it hurts. Yes is easily the duo’s most enjoyable work since 1993's Very, perhaps bettered by being unconventional and sophisticated enough to reflect a certain wisdom that has come with age. At its heart, though, this is one fine collection of catchy songs with inventive production – refreshing after the tame Fundamental LP that preceded this one. Worth repeated listenings.