Yes, it is true. Pet Shop Boys are not myfaborite band in the world. But man are they close to being my favorite band in the world. The synth duo are like a mesh of Morrissey and Dusty Springfield, they are a fake soulful hybrid that digs so deep into the Netherlands of 80s pop that it feels like falling into a rabbit hole.
Pet Shop Boys are the best synth pop band ever. They have past their expiration date by over 20 years and continue to produce songs of world class quality. Their last album, 2012’s Elysium, was high on my list of best of last year.
So what’s not to like?
There is a chilliness to Pet Shop Boys that goes beyond their love of computers, a very English properness to their impropriety, and a sort of intellectual (as opposed to class) snobbery which makes them difficult to love. If you slept with them you would still respect them in the morning. All their hedonism is on a precipice of anhedonia, and theiris a distilledness to their sexuality. A sort of cognitive dissonance between what they claim they want and what they get.
On stage, they are Cincedrella on A Saturday night, a rave up without the prurient kick of Scissor Sisters but with plenty of strobe lights and dancers, mirrorballs and disco balance. A fun evening.
Or if you prefer, Pet Shop Boys are great post-modernists pop stars and always, always a must see. They will be playing two nights at the beacon this September 16th and September 17th.