Pet Shop Boys -- my favorite drolly cynical synthpop duo and America's fourth (they're behind Madonna, Donna Summer, and Janet Jackson on the Billboard dance charts all time list) -- are back with a new studio album that came out this week on Astralwerks. Entitled Yes, it features production by Xenomania (who has worked with Saint Etienne, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Cher, and Kylie Minogue), orchestral arrangements by Owen Pallett (Last Shadow Puppets, Final Fantasy), and guitar work from Johnny Marr of The Smiths fame. Previously, the London duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have worked with heavy hitters like Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, Robbie Williams, Electronic, and The Killers, and this year they've remixed a track for Lady GaGa, co-written Girls Aloud's popular U.K. single "The Loving Kind," and produced a #1 U.K. dance hit for Kompakt artist Sam Taylor-Wood. Recently, they were given an Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the Brit Awards and, ya know, they're also working on a ballet. Here's to hoping it's a more fleshed-out version of the video for "Heart," in which Sir Ian McKellen portrays a vampire who steals Tennant's wife.
The ever ironic witticists describe the process -- or what they think might've been the process -- for selecting their 10th album's title: "We can't seem to remember how we came up with the title Yes," says Tennant. "Our official story is that we may have taken it from the famous Yoko Ono exhibition in 1967 where you had to climb up a step ladder -- as John Lennon famously did -- pick up a magnifying glass, look at a tiny word written on the ceiling, and the word was 'yes.' I think it partly came from that."
"We thought No was a bit negative," Lowe adds.
Tracklisting:
1. Love, etc.
2. All Over the World
3. Beautiful People
4. Did You See Me Coming?
5. Vulnerable
6. More Than a Dream
7. Building a Wall
8. King of Rome
9. Pandemonium
10. The Way It Used to Be
11. Legacy
Tourdates:
06.10.09 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Ice Palace
06.11.09 - Moscow, Russia - Luzhniki Palace of Sports
06.13.09 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Rockhal
06.14.09 - Stuttgart, Germany - Theaterhaus
06.15.09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Maag Event Hall
06.18.09 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Apollo Manchester
06.19.09 - London, United Kingdom - The O2 - London
06.22.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Heineken Music Hall
06.24.09 - Cologne, Germany - Palladium
06.25.09 - Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom GmbH
06.26.09 - Leipzig, Germany - Parkbuhne
06.28.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
07.02.09 - Helsinki, Finland - Ice Hall
07.04.09 - Roskilde, Denmark - Festival Grounds (Roskilde Festival)
07.07.09 - Barcelona, Spain - Pueblo Espanol
07.08.09 - Madrid, Spain - Palacio Vistalegre
07.11.09 - Naas, Ireland - Punchestown Racecourse (Oxegen)
07.12.09 - Kinross, United Kingdom - Balado (T In The Park)
07.13.09 - Liverpool, United Kingdom - Liverpool Echo Arena (Liverpool Summer Pops)
07.17.09 - Suffolk, United Kingdom - Henham Park (Latitude Festival)
07.18.09 - Dour, BelgiumFestival Grounds (Dour Festival)