Sculpture Magazine

Brian Higgins, aka Xenomania, is just what PSB needed to propel them once again smack into the forefront of the electro pop dance scene. Throw in the greatest guitarist in electronica, Johnny Marr, on most of the tracks, and you have a often brilliant, and consistently delightful concoction from a seminal 80s dance pop band.

Yes has the Pet Shop Boys sounding more musically relevant and lyrically sassy than at any point in their career since the height of their popularity in the mid to late 80s. Mostly gone are the moody almost cold sounding patterns of synthesizer that, while technically perfect as usual, left many a little cold with their last album, Fundamental. Yes, from the bouncy, minimalist plucking of the opening "Love, etc." through most every track has Neil and Chris in a happy dance-pop place.

"Love, etc" is the perfect single, as it is PSB at their current finest and still sounding unmistakably like classic PSB as well. The mix of the second track, "All Around the World,"with the opening very trippy wails to start things off, prove Neil and Chris, even into their 50s, aren't interested in being a revival act.

"Beautiful People", my favorite track, is a gorgeous example of how strong and vital Neil still is as a vocalist, and the mix of guitars and touches of soothing harmonica make it one classic pop song. Throughout, the precision Johnny Marr brings to the mixes are truly evident. It's clear his work with Electronic and his past work with PSB are a musical marriage hopefully that will continue. While the middle part of the album with "Vulnerable" and "Building a Wall" may not reach some of the more extraordinary heights of many of the other songs, each of these songs is well above filler. And if you haven't been following PSB for awhile, "Pandemonium," clearly one of the stronger songs they have done lately, would be a good place to start. It's a striking dance track with great electronica and rich musical layers that also showcase just how Neil has not lost one ounce of passion and strength in his voice.

Fans of remixes would be remiss not to invest in the Limited Deluxe Edition of Yes. The darker, pounding remixes of each of the songs is well worth it. Each remix is a prime example of how influential and well-fitted the Pet Shop Boys are to the club music they helped pioneer way back when.

Yes is by far the best Pet Shop Boys album this decade and hopefully will be recognized as one of the finest albums released this year.

Track List

Disc 1
01. Love etc.
02. All Over The World
03. Beautiful People
04. Did You See Me Coming?
05. Vulnerable
06. More Than A Dream
07. Building A Wall
08. King Of Rome
09. Pandemonium
10. The Way It Used To Be
11. Legacy


Disc 2
01. This used to be the future
02. More than a dream (Magical dub)
03. Pandemonium (The stars and the sun dub)
04. The way it used to be (Left of love dub)
05. All over the world (This is a dub)
06. Vulnerable (Public eye dub)
07. Love etc. (Beautiful dub)