Pet Shop Boys are comin' back electrified with Electric in July and Axis right now !

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have surprisingly been in a hurry to record a follow-up to Elysium and this brand new and twelth studio album called Electric will be released on 15th of July on their brand new own label called x2 ! And from what its first single release Axis sounds, they've sped up their latest sounds and electrified a lot with Stuart Price on production duties...




While the video clocks in at 3:50, the released album version is a lot longer at 5:32 and in fact, all 9 new songs on Electric's tracklisting ain't short as the album lasts over 50 minutes :
1. Axis 5:32
2. Bolshy 5:44
3. Love is a bourgeois construct 6:41
4. Fluorescent 6:14
5. Inside a dream 5:37
6. The last to die 4:12
7. Shouting in the evening 3:36
8. Thursday (feat. Example) 5:02
9. Vocal 6:34

The last to die is a cover version of a Bruce Springsteen song but all others are originals by the english duo and I wonder how many other nearly instrumental technoïd tracks like Axis are featured among this tight tracklisting... I hope not that much as even how hard I like my PSB to be uptempo, I'd like to hear Neil's vocals on beautiful lyrics on top of Chris' beats and sunthés... and this first single doesn't really appeal to me that way : The beat is good and the music very appealing but it really lacks some lyrics to help me memorize it as a "song" : it is just a dull instrumental transition track, or an intro to their album for me in that form... The extra length of some of the other tracks included makes me fear of a Relentless Part 2 sort-of album, indie clubby instrumental techno/dance, which is not what I hope for... Time will tell, till then, let's try to get more into Axis by viewing the video once gain : it is hypnotizing and I know I'll soon like it more :)