The sounds of Pride
Pet Shop Boys (Photo by Alasdair McLellan) From the Pet Shop Boys to Billy Idol, there’s plenty of beats to move your feet during Pride Month GREGG SHAPIRO | Q Music GreggShapiro@AOL.com Torres (Photo by Ebru Yildiz) PET SHOP BOYS A new Pet Shop Boys studio album is always cause for celebration, especially because it’s been four years since the last one was released.
In the interim, PSB released the extraordinary (and aptly titled) Smash 2023 box set, easily the duo’s most complete hits compilation.
On the just-released 10-song vinyl LP Nonetheless (Warner/Parlophone), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe get us on our feet and dancing with opener “Loneliness,” “Feel,” and “Bullet for Narcissus.” Dancing is a theme here, not only sonically, but in song titles, including the epic club track “Why am I dancing?” and the lite funk of “Dancing Star,” as well as in the slow number “A new Bohemia” (including the line, “Who dances now to their sweet old song?”).
The ’80s vibe of “New London Boy” — which asks the question, “Is everyone gay?” — is taken seriously with the inclusion of an ’80s-style rap.
