13 albums in, the golden age of The Pet Shop Boys may be behind them, but they remain masters of their very singular domain. The new album SUPER ticks all the right boxes for devotees: "The Pop Kids" is the standout and is their current single - I have just ordered it with various remixes (including an extra verse and lyrics) and some other tracks - their CD singles are always worth investigating for extra numbers (or 'B-sides' as we used to call them: "Sexy Northerner", "The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On", "The Truck Driver and his Mate" etc).
"Happiness" is also a delightful slab of boppy, nursery rhyme pop. Neil Tennant (a pop veteran at 61) still sounds simultaneously wry and mournful and Chris Lowe's (56) euphoric keyboards still tickle both heart and body. They have the pop sensibility down pat, they are indestructible, after 30 years and still going .... roll on their Royal Opera House shows in July. Nice that one can still be a Pop Kid at any age. SUPER is produced by Stuart Price, who also put Madonna through her paces.
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