023. Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin

There aren’t many artists whose back entire back catalogue is a must. The Pet Shop Boys, even when they do things badly, do things better than most, and are thus coveted with the above. They are the exemplars of pop music, creating songs which are not overtly commercial, and yet get lodged in ones consciousness with total ease. Their music is intellectually and lyrically pitched just right, teasing you with enough meaning to draw you into the words, but thankfully not deep enough to require a unit on discourse analysis at the nearest university.

Their upcoming collaborations with Xenomania, the production house behind Girls Aloud and the modern day incarnation of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, released later this month is eagerly anticipated by myself, as two of the most exemplary organisations in pop music come together for one album. The Pet Shop Boys appearance on Girls Aloud tracks will hopefully add a needed mark of musical legitimacy for the detractors of the girl group, who deride them as just another throw away manufactured pop outfit.

Yet, despite the praise I have lavished on the Tennant/Lowe duo, they are sadly under represented in my collection, this 7” marking only the third release I own. In the past, I’ve always elected to consolidate the Depeche Mode offerings which, in place of pop sensibility, opted for a less accessible, introspective and altogether darker lyrical and sonic content. With new albums from both the Mode and PSB, perhaps the state of electronic music doesn’t seem as bad as I seemed to think recently.

Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin
[EMI : R6158]
(1987)

Helen & Douglas House: £0.50