AdamSweeting
CD of the week
The longevity of the Pet Shop Boys is one of pop’s minor miracles, particularly since they’ve managed to sustain themselves for all these years on a diet of disco and hi- NRG. There are signs on their new CD, Nightlife (Parlophone/ EMI) that the Boys are finally outgrowing their clubland roots.
While the Kraftwerkesque Radiophonic demands robotic treatment, several songs have a melodic and harmonic sophistication which cries out to be cut loose from the tyranny of drum machine and sequencer, especially the exquisite You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk.
Like several pieces here, the song suggests that its natural home is a Broadway musical. And judging from recent interviews, that may be the Boys’s next step.