Electro-pop icons the Pet Shop Boys are still kicking after millions of albums sold and all these years of software and hardware updates, with a new album—their 13th—in the blocks, and a forthcoming residence at London’s Royal Opera House in July that’s already sold-out. And if Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe can still churn out strobe-lit, dance-floor-filling anthems like “Happiness,” then the accolades aren’t going away.
Musically, longtime fans will appreciate that very little variation has been made on their theme. What’s striking about Super is how the duo will go from innocuous ditties about music, scenes, partying and days gone by (“The Pop Kids,” “Groovy,” “Twenty Something”) to statements about totalitarianism and the inside of a dictator’s head. Which is great, but hearing statements like “The Dictator Divides” backed by the sounds of a pride parade’s fl ashiest fl oat will always take some getting used to.
—Kevin Stewart-Panko
