Pet Shop Boys - The Pop Kids

This is the first proper single from the English duo's upcoming 13th album Super. This is the second song to be heard from the album after the mostly instrumental "Inner Sanctum" was released as a teaser for the new direction of the album. The song's lyrics tell a story of two friends who met at university and shared a friendship during that time through their mutual love of the club scene. The story is given a proper conclusion in longer The Full Story remix which has an additional verse. The song's production is in a 90s House style. It has the deep tribal beats and the characteristic pianos. Some parts of the piano hook recall the main riff in Bizarre Inc's rave classic "Playing With Knives". This element is played up to great effect in the PSB Deep Dub version. Marc Kinchen and Offer Nissim provide the remixes. MK's take is in a similar vein as the original but in his usual straightforward classic House style. Offer Nissim's mix is dark and dramatic just as the remix name indicates. It contains most of the vocals and they have been spread out a bit. Both are really well done.

Listen to the remixes here:


Grade: A

Scissor Sisters - Invisible Light

This is reportedly the 3rd single off of Night Work. The Pet Shop Boys-sounding track has a multi-layered production calling to mind the UK duo's work during the 80's. The production while having an old school sound also sounds modern with the electro/pop music being made now. With its catchy lyrics, the vocals are also top-notch. Acclaimed actor Ian McKellen makes a guest appearance on the track doing the spoken part (a la Neil Tennant on "West End Girls"). The original version is nearly 6 minutes long, almost ready for club consumption. There are remixes of this by Stuart Price, Boys Noize, Siriusmo, and Sammy Jo & Nita. Stuart's mix is in the same vein as the original. The vocals are a bit clearer, however only some of them are used. It's more like a vocal dub. Aesthetically, it sounds like something Shep Pettibone would have done during the 80's when remixes were based on the original version. The Boys Noize mix is mostly instrumental as well. The Siriusmo mix has that 80's Funk style to it. The Sammy Jo & Nita mix is a bit more laidback, losing much of the 80's sounds. The original is the best of the bunch.

Watch the trippy music video here (YouTube)
NSFW

Grade: A (for the original)/B (for the remixes)

Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys - We're The Pet Shop Boys

This tribute to the UK Electronic duo Pet Shop Boys was originally recorded by My Robot Friend back in 2002. The Pet Shop Boys recorded this themselves the following year. The song appeared as a B-side on one of their singles. And then in 2006, former member of Take That, Robbie Williams recorded this with the Pet Shop Boys for his Rudebox album. While this was not a single for the UK release, this one is being released to the clubs in the U.S. So far, "She's Madonna" and "Lovelight" have been released in the same fashion. Ralphi Rosario provides the remixes for this one. Ralphi has remixed two Pet Shop Boys singles in the past. The results are rather good. The production is hard-hitting, but accessible. The vocals float over the production. The sounds and style of the mix do call to mind what Ralphi did on PSB's "Minimal" last year. This one should be a success as well.

Grade: A