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On Debaser, practically everything is reviewed. Yet it occasionally stands out, among 7(!!!) reviews of the latest Oasis or Depeche Mode albums, the absence of names that have written significant pages in the history of pop. I believe one of the most surprising gaps in the Debaser archive is that concerning the Pet Shop Boys.
The duo formed by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe did not only produce clever dancey snapshots of the 80s like “West End Girls” or “Domino Dancing”, but intelligently contributed to shaping the aesthetic of that decade, and the way this would extend its influence in a post-modern sense in the years to come. This aesthetic was expressed both in the imagery evoked by the duo – of loneliness and boredom amidst the hedonistic anxiety of the yuppie era, as well as sexual emancipation in Thatcherite England – and in making appealing to the masses the insights of the various Kraftwerk, rendering them organically expansive. In this sense, consider a track like “DJ Culture” or the ironic hi-nrg cover of U2's “Where the Streets Have No Name”.
This silent revolution was carried forward by a series of amazing singles, from “Rent” to “Left to My Own Devices”, which made the Pet Shop Boys one of the band singles par excellence, like the Kinks or T-rex. Indeed, there are no indisputable masterpieces among the various albums Tennant and Lowe have created over the years, but it seems to us that “Behavior” is the one that comes closest to perfection on 33 rpm. Released in 1990, it prominently displayed all the elements of the sound that made our heroes great. Lowe's sumptuous synthesizer textures, now symphonic now hi-nrg (as per Soft Cell's lesson), the measured pathos of singer Neil Tennant, an equally intelligent and ironic Morrissey though less emphatic. The approach, however, is far more ambitious, organic and clearly attempts to finally forge an album to be recorded in the annals, as already attempted on “Actually”. In this sense, the stylistic perspectives broaden their horizons, with various piano parts supplanting keyboards, and there are even guitar parts (hosted by His Majesty Johnny Marr).
There is only the Village People-esque number “So Hard” that is dancefloor-friendly, the rest of the album slips away on unusual sound coordinates, delivering a handful of memorable episodes. Exemplary in this respect is “Jealousy”, where the dance temptations break against a sparkling sound carpet reminiscent of Bowie's “Rock 'n' Roll Suicide” period. Excellent is also the funk ride “How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?”, a tasty parody of the various “humanitarian rockstars” like Bono and Sting, or the soul vein that envelops “To Face the Truth” or an “Only the Wind” whose melody – stripped of the digital layer – seems to come from the pen of the greatest known white soul man, Neil Young.
But the masterpiece of “Behavior” is certainly the poignant “Being Boring”, in our view one of the peaks of pop of all time, also thanks to a video clip that made history. It's a heartfelt elegy by Tennant for a friend who died of AIDS, as well as a bittersweet portrait of England in the singer's green years. Lowe is masterful at calibrating keyboards, guitars, and synthesizers in an almost Morricone-like mix without being magniloquent, while Tennant provides his best performance ever, whispering phrases like “But I thought in spite of dreams /You’d be sitting somewhere here with me”. There could be no better seal to the 80s, and soon thereafter the decline of the award-winning Lowe-Tennant company would begin.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Being Boring (06:50)
I came across a cache of old photos
And invitations to teenage parties
"Dress in white" one said, with quotations
From someone's wife, a famous writer
In the nineteen-twenties
When you're young you find inspiration
In anyone who's ever gone
And opened up a closing door
She said: "We were never feeling bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
When I went I left from the station
With a haversack and some trepidation
Someone said: "If you're not careful
You'll have nothing left and nothing to care for
In the nineteen-seventies"
But I sat back and looking forward
My shoes were high and I had scored
I'd bolted through a closing door
I would never find myself feeling bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend
Now I sit with different faces
In rented rooms and foreign places
All the people I was kissing
Some are here and some are missing
In the nineteen-nineties
I never dreamt that I would get to be
The creature that I always meant to be
But I thought in spite of dreams
You'd be sitting somewhere here with me
'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend
And we were never being boring
We were never being bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We were never being bored
03 To Face the Truth (05:33)
(Tennant/Lowe)
--------------------
You know it hurts me when you lie
Sometimes it even makes me cry
'Cause I'm so in love with you
If you don't believe what I have said
Take a look, my eyes are red
'Cause I'm so in love with you
But all those sleepless nights in bed
When you've been out somewhere instead
I wonder if you care and cannot bear the proof
It hurts too much to face the truth
To face the truth
A lawyer with a case to prove
Would sift the evidence, then move
It's the only thing to do
So why then can't I face the facts?
Sift this evidence that backs
I am so in love with you
But all the nights when you have said
You must be somewhere else instead
I wonder where you go, but daren't expose the proof
It hurts too much to face the truth
To face the truth
To face the truth
You are the only one, the only one
You know it hurts me when you lie
Sometimes it even makes me cry
'Cause I'm so in love with you
If you don't believe what I have said
Take a look, my eyes are red
'Cause I'm so in love with you
But all the nights you don't show up
I know it's time I should grow up
I ask you if you care, you stand and stare aloof
It hurts too much to face the truth
To face the truth
To face the truth
07 So Hard (03:59)
I double-cross you
And you get mysterious mail
I've tried hard not to shock you
It's hard not to
With the things I could say
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
You lock your letters in a box
And you've hidden the key
I go one better
I'm indebted
To a contact magazine
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for us
Everybody's got to live together
Just to find a little peace of mind there
If you give up your affairs forever
I will give up mine
But it's hard
So hard
I'm always hoping
You'll be faithful
But you're not, I suppose
We've both give up smoking
'Cause it's fatal
So whose matches are those
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard (it's so hard)
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard
Tell me why
Don't we try
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
Not to break our hearts and make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard for ourselves
We make it so hard
So hard
We make it so hard
08 Nervously (04:11)
(Tennant/Lowe)
------------
A nervous boy in several ways
I never knew the world could operate this way
I was nervous when we stopped to speak
And the world came crashing around my feet
We don't talk of love
We're much too shy
But nervously we wonder when and why
A nervous boy, in spite of which
I never thought I could tremble as much as this
Your flashing eyes and sudden smiles
Are never quite at ease, and neither am I
Oh, we'll talk about it all some night
But nervously we never get it
Right
From the start I approved of you
Right from the moment you turned to face me
A nervous boy from another town
With a nervous laugh and a concentrated frown
I spoke too fast with watchful eyes
Of a recent past and some nostalgic surprise
We don't talk of love
We're much too shy
But nervously we wonder when and
Smile
Knowing why I approved of you
Right from the moment you turned to face me
A nervous boy
10 Jealousy (04:50)
At dead of night, when strangers roam
The streets in search of anyone who'll take them home
I lie alone, the clock strikes three
And anyone who wanted to could contact me
At dead of night, 'til break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew time passed so slow
I wish I'd never met you, or that I could bear to let you go
At dead of night, 'til break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew 'til I met you
11 It Must Be Obvious (04:25)
(Tennant/Lowe)
---------------
Are you feeling alright?
It's easy, we've been there before
But it feels like the flight
Of the von Trapps, does that mean it's war?
Oh no,
From my head to my toes
I'm in love with you
Do you think it shows?
We're meant to be friends
That's what it says in the script
Is it really the end
If, sometimes, I stray just a bit?
Oh no,
It should be poetry, not prose
I'm in love with you
Do you think it shows?
And everyone knows when they look at us
'Course they do, it must be obvious
I never told you, now I suppose
That you're the only one who doesn't know
You were different when
We met in an ordinary way
I didn't intend
To interrupt your own shadowplay
Oh no,
I won't upset the status quo
I'm in love with you
Do you think it shows?
And everyone knows when they look at us
'Course they do, it must be obvious
You've never asked me, and I'm surprised
That you're the only one who hasn't tried
Everyone knows when they look at us
'Course they do, it must be obvious
I never asked you, now I suppose
That you're the only one who doesn't know
Aah
When they look at us
It must be obvious
Oooh
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Other reviews
By Abraham
"Sadness is the backbone, the common denominator of 'Behaviour,' by Neil’s own admission."
"'Behaviour' is not an easy listen, it doesn’t insinuate immediate complicity. It takes time, often years."
