PET SHOP BOYS
Smash – The Singles 1985-2020 (Parlophone)
There’s a cool effortlessness that seems to surround the world of Pet Shop Boys, who since the early 1980s have navigated the pressures to release music in an increasingly image-driven cultural landscape. In doing so – and always on their own terms – the duo’s new collection of remastered singles, spanning an impressive 35-year period, illustrate the longevity of one of Britain’s most original and triumphant electronic acts and the sheer volume of hits from the pair.
With the 53-song collection’s title subtly hinting at the group’s origins (vocalist Neil Tennant left his post at Smash Hits to pursue music), it’s an astonishing compilation that serves as a treasure chest of the band’s singles, each imbued with the group’s unique sonic character, whilst they nonetheless have also remained acute contemporaries of the changing music scene orbiting around them, such as via the trance-infused Nightlife of the late 1990s to the acoustic early 2000s album Release.
At the helm of the new collection are the groundbreaking West End Girls and satire of Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) among a shimmering tracklist of other classic songs that form the cache of the PSB discography. Joyous Dusty Springfield collaboration What Have I Done to Deserve This?, the dance-inducing Left To My Own Devices and the heartbreaking introspection of Being Boring pave the way for the pair’s post-millennial releases, up to 2020’s Monkey Business. The sextuple vinyl edition of Smash, beautifully presented with original artwork, also celebrates and updates the iconic visual media of the band throughout the years.
A document of one of the acts that shaped late-20th century British popular music, Smash rightfully recognises the artistry of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe and the breadth of an impressively successful career.
words CHLOË EDWARDS