Pet Shop Boys - Release (with Bonus CD)

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Free Music Notes for Release (with Bonus CD)

Free Music Review: Professional Pop Music
Hit: 5 Stars

It's 21 years on, and the Pet Shop Boys have cranked out album number eight in a series of deeply personal, charming, alarming and fascinating pop music. Their evolution over the years is complex, but one thing is clear: love is center stage in their lives now. On old albums like "Please" and "Actually," PSB would discuss politics, life in London, the Royal Family.

But every song on "Release" is a love song. The emotions are a wild mix of longing ("Home & Dry," "E-Mail"), recovery ("I Get Along"), sadness, anger ("Love is a Catastrophe") and discovery ("The Night I Fell in Love"). Their love lyrics in the past have never been overly cryptic, but on "Release," they come right out and say exactly what they're thinking. On "Love is a Catastrophe:" "What happens next? / With life I'm unimpressed / Pain like a cutter's knife / Never been lonelier in my life."

Certainly the hurting is present, but so is the happiness: "Well he just smiled / I guess it happens nightly / and so I fell in love." "The Night I Fell in Love" is the Pet Shop Boys at their most acutely gay. Teenage Neil Tennant teen worries over his newfound love's rumoured homophobia, but his lover "just shrugged."

Perhaps the most captivating moment here is PSB's very clever take on 21st century communication: "E-Mail." Tennant and Lowe always write intelligent lyrics, but on this track they're dead on: "Now time and distance melt away / No digits or delay / And some things can be written down that we're too shy to say." Tennant sings about the insecurity of his lover being across the sea, dealing with that lover's possible temptations while away, and making himself feel better by "writing this e-mail to say I love you." "Release" doesn't get much happier than this high middle point of the album.

Up next is the superb, danceable "Samurai in Autumn." The scant lyrics are plain and puzzling, but PSB show here, at 47 and 42 years of age, they can still churn out moody, infectious club killers. Back to business on the still dancey "Here," where Tennant exclaims his care, and offers of "you've got a home here." His understanding is pure: "And if you ever feel / the pain is far too big a deal / I say with pride / I'll be on your side."

PSB are still growing, and they really stretch out with the wistful, gentle country sparkle of "You Choose." This is easily among PSB's best closers. Tennant's voice rings with the almost parental wisdom of a full life of love and loss: "He's gone / you've lost / Stay behind and count the cost / You try, you lose / You don't fall in love by chance / You choose." You might not agree with his cynical assessment of love, but keep listening. If his careful articulation and Northern British accent don't send chills straight down your spine right now, listen again. And again. Neil has experience with this, and maybe his lecture is for us all: "Play the sad songs / Sing the blues / You don't fall in love by chance / You choose." A lesson indeed. Listen again.

"Release" is a return to the relaxed, melancholy atmosphere of their classic "Behaviour." Perhaps this is where the Pet Shop Boys' groove is. The album's packaging is the dependable PSB-style professional design, with lyrics alternating stark drawings of various flowers in various stages of life. Sonically, the album is similar to "Very" (but the addition of Johnny Marr's guitar is indispensible here) and the content is more consistent that the erratic "Nightlife" and "Bilingual." Lyrically, there must be something in this album for anyone who's loved, and for anyone who's lost.

Listeners around the world will find much to enjoy here. With age, Tennant and Lowe simply get better. "Release" is ten more reasons why I'm proud to be a Pet Shop Boys fan.

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