4 / 10
To the casual observer, the Pet Shop Boys' career has been
in decline since 1993's 'Very', but to fans it's been business
as usual. Defending 'Release' will be less easy. It's their
worst album to date.
Amid this ten-track jamboree of ill-advised guitar solos,
excitement-free lyricism and sparse tuneage, there are
standout songs. 'I Get Along' is a fuck-you anthem to a
cheating ex in the public eye, done in the style of Oasis.
'The Night I Fell In Love' is a touching fan fiction involving
Eminem and a schoolboy groupie, and 'Home' recalls the
synth-rich, 'I Want A Dog'-esque flourish that carried the
Pet Shop Boys through seven albums.
Elsewhere, things fall apart. 'Email' finds Neil and
Chris getting to grips with new fangled technology,
while 'Love Is A Catastrophe' is a botched attempt to
emulate the spacious urban chill of 'Last Night I Dreamt That
Somebody Loved Me'.
They're still the best band of the 20th Century, but it's
2002 and the only band allowed to sound like a substandard
Oasis are Oasis.
Peter Robinson
9.6
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