Pet Shop Boys

Bilingual

I'm single, unilingual.

Review Score:

(8/10)
Before reviewing a Pet Shop Boys album, I feel obligated to state that I am not gay. Now that that's out of the way -- sorry -- this is a dizzyingly good album. It's not as consistent as Very, but the best moments are better. The first two tracks, "Discoteca" and "Bilingual," blend into each other seamlessly and, taken together, constitute the pinnacle of the Pet Shop Boys' accomplishments. They are pounding, symphonic, visceral, and dark. They'll make you want to drive your car at 200 M.P.H., even if you're not actually driving a car at the moment.

Some of the other songs on the album, such as "Metamorphosis" and "Before," are cringeworthy throwbacks to the Boys' trendy 80's releases. A few other songs are simply throwaways. But never fear -- "Red Letter Day" is here. This is an amazing composition that could wring tears from a stone. It also marks the return of the famed Bathhouse Choir from Very's "Go West" ( the Bathhouse Choir is my name for a rather fruity sounding chorus of baritone males I really wish the Pet Shop Boys would stop using. ) "To Step Aside" and "Up Against It" are also thrilling. By the way, the sexual pun in the title "Bilingual" is an idea the Boys got from Pete Shelley's great "Homosapien."

This album came out in 1995 and it's now 1999. Are the Boys retired or what?

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