Customer Reviews

Love etc.

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pet Shop Boy's new single is the upbeat "Love Etc." The song is about the hollowness of living the material life without love; certainly a well-worn topic, but the boys manage to craft a solid single. The song has a catchy if repetitive chorus - You need more/ you need more/ you need more/ you need loooooove. I prefer the verses, with background singers chanting phrases like "don't have to have" leading into Neil enumerating various trappings of money, such as "a house in Beverly Hills." In terms of style, "Love Etc." would have sounded very much at home on their last CD, "Fundamental," and reminds me more than a little of a cross between "Minimal" and "Psychological." I have to admit that I don't find "Love Etc." to be the most original PSB single, but I still like it.

"We're All Criminals Now" is a companion piece of sorts to "Integral" from their 2006 CD, "Fundamental." Both songs decry the decreasing privacy and increasing surveillance in Britain in the name of ending terrorism. The lyrics are cynical - Videoed on the subway/ reading the news and then/ walking along the High Street/ videod once again/ waiting for a bus in Stockwell/ cameras on my back. In this world, we're all presumed to be potential criminal and terrorists. However, the song sounds rather cheerful and danceable - a classic example of PSBs setting despairing lyrics to a "disco beat" (or at least a pretty danceable beat here). It's arguably their strongest b-side since 2006's "The Resurrectionist," and this song alone is worth the price of this download, raising a 4-star rating to a 5-star rating for me.

The second b-side is "Gin and Jag." Apparently, "gin and jag" is a British term for someone rather wealthy and jaded; someone who might drink gin and drive a Jaguar. The song is dark and somewhat discordant. I'm not crazy about "Gin and Jag," but it's hard to argue with the ability of PSBs to crank out songs with such clever and sophisticated lyrics paired with layered music. I'm sure many PSB fans will love this song.

In the U.K., the boys continue to have solid success. "Love Etc." debuted at #14 on the singles charts, continuing their trend of top 20 hits (only two of their singles have ever peaked lower - Was It Worth It in 1991 and Numb in 2006). "Love Etc." is a very good single that is likely to be a huge hit on the U.S. dance charts, although it's unlikely to garner much attention on the main U.S. charts unless it sells well in downloads.