Pet Shop Boys
Introspective

THE REVIEW

I'm here. I turn on the TV, even though I have little desire to do so. I patiently wait to see one of the programs I prefer, part of that something decent broadcast from inside a square box.

Suddenly...silence. The broadcasts have been interrupted. Complete with colored bars, reminiscent of the SMPTE brand. Yet those bars, in the form of a rainbow, are not about to calibrate what comes into contact with a film reel but are ready to present something that seems to be much more than entertainment. Something captivating and thrilling. An inner journey, within myself, and also within the Pop world. And it's no coincidence it's called "Introspective".

It's like a train, and the conductors are them, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Before my eyes, the dance opens thanks to a string sequence (handled by Richard Niles) embodying one of their leading singles, "Left To My Own Devices", with the assistance of Trevor Horn.

"I could leave you
say goodbye
or I could love you
if I tried
and I could
and left to my own devices I probably would"

Neil Tennant is less dark than Dave Gahan, less provocative than the Prince of many years ago, but he is not at all inferior to the aforementioned. He is not someone to be underestimated, capable of more than excellently reviving a song already given to the Eight Wonder and Patsy Kensit ("I'm Not Scared", a real spectacle, among orchestras, electronic bases, and guerrilla-like voices) or of making an Elvis Presley song more captivating ("Always On My Mind", here in a wild medley with "In My House"), up to declaring his being a dog lover over an electronic base entrusted to none other than Frankie Knuckles ("I Want A Dog").

Not to mention the Latin-flavored atmospheres of that leading single named "Domino Dancing", with a video full of joy and melancholy at the same time, or that slightly gospel and slightly "stadium-like" choir accompanying the closing "It's Alright".

Everything ends, I no longer hear anything. Perhaps what I listened to was indeed one of the programs I prefer, and I didn't immediately realize it. More than an interruption of broadcasts. They were continuing, in a way different from usual.

That program was "Introspective". Perhaps the essence of what the Pet Shop Boys actually are and will always be. A group that always resists the passage of time. Even at 50 years old (listen to albums like "Fundamental" or "Release" for proof). "Not" young, but with a talent in no way wasted. What they are. "Not young" making songs for everyone, grown-ups and not just. And I'm one of the latter.