13. Release (2002)

Release is the runt of the Pet Shop Boys’ litter for one simple reason: it’s boring. That’s something that nobody had ever been able to accuse them of before. Coming off as an attempt to revisit the splendour of Behaviour, it’s dependent entirely on Chris Lowe’s textured synths and elegiac pop structures with the odd bit of crisp acoustic guitar. However, there’s a total absence of thumping disco-pop numbers or standout moments, the ideas never fully realise themselves, and the whole thing disappointingly passes by without incident. No wonder it became the least commercially successful PSB album to date. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘Home And Dry’; ‘I Get Along’

12. Elysium (2012)

Released in the immediate aftermath of their appearance during the Olympics closing ceremony, Elysium split opinion among Pet Shop Boys fans and critics alike with its overwhelmingly serene atmosphere – hardly the stuff that big comebacks are made of. Though some praised its sonic consistency, we fall on the negative side: despite opening and closing with two of their best tracks in a while (‘Leaving’ and ‘Requiem In Denim And Leopardskin’) and an occasional warmth in Tennant’s songwriting, Elysium often feels too understated for its own good, with many tracks evaporating into nothingness. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘Winner’; ‘Leaving’; ‘Memory Of The Future’

11. Nightlife (1999)

Featuring many songs that went on to feature in Jonathan Harvey’s 2001 play ‘Closer To Heaven’, Nightlife is a flawed but enjoyable fin-de-siècle concept album that spans many different sub-genres of pop music. Sadly, not all of them work, but those that do are as great as anything in PSB’s catalogue. The hard trance of ‘Radiophonic’, the lush house of ‘I Don’t Know What You Want…’ are the highlights, while the hi-NRG Village People pastiche ‘New York City Boy’ teeters precariously on the brink of absurdity, as do the album’s Kabuki/punk visual aesthetics that Tennant and Lowe retained throughout the entire promotional process. A few tracks feel over-produced or indistinct in the rush to provide variety. A special shout-out to the Kylie duet ‘In Denial’, which rescued the Australian singer from obscurity (she was without a record label at the time). (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More’; ‘New York City Boy’; ‘You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk’

10. Yes (2009)

Produced by mainstream pop auteur Brian Higgins and his Xenomania team, Yes was the Pet Shop Boys’ tenth album and saw them return to their usual obsessions – massive arrangements, resplendent pop, themes of isolation and regret – following up the unusually political Fundamental with their most overtly flamboyant record since Very. Coupled with a huge world tour lasting for over two years, PSB reconnected with their audience at this point in their career and reminded everybody of their legacy (check out the live Pandemonium album, recorded at London’s O2 Arena), but the album they were nominally promoting didn’t really add to that canon. The absurdly bombastic Tchaikovsky-sampling ‘All Over The World’, the blocky synths of ‘Pandemonium’ and the gorgeous shoulda-been-a-single ‘Vulnerable’ aside, Yes consists almost entirely of functional, mechanical but ultimately forgettable pop. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘Love etc.’; ‘Did You See Me Coming?’

9. Fundamental (2006)

Released after the longest ever gap between PSB albums, Fundamental did a great deal to put Tennant and Lowe back on track after the drudgery of Release four years previously. As the title implied, it saw them take a back-to-basics approach, mixing the spangly pop of their early years with the mature, reflective songwriting that had recently crept into their work, resulting in a focussed but relatively varied platter. Hooking up with the legendary Trevor Horn behind the production desk, it also saw Pet Shop Boys in noticeably political form, with tracks like ‘Psychological’ and ‘Luna Park’ criticising Bush’s War on Terrorism and ‘I’m With Stupid’ seeing Tennant berate himself for previously supporting Tony Blair. Crucially, the music was also up to scratch, with the sleek, pure electro-pop of ‘Minimal’ and deep house of ‘Integral’ rubbed up against mellower tracks like ‘I Made My Excuses And Left’. Entering the third decade of their career, Fundamental demonstrated that the Pet Shop Boys were far from done. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘I’m With Stupid’; ‘Minimal’; ‘Numb’

8. Bilingual (1996)

Pet Shop Boys celebrated their tenth anniversary by continuing with the flamboyance of Very, the album that had secured them worldwide domination. Absorbing Latin American influences in the drum sounds and rhythms, particularly on irresistibly slinky pop moments like ‘Se A Vida É’ and ‘Discoteca’, and also in the lyrics (three tracks mix English with Spanish or Portuguese), when Bilingual was good it was truly the Pet Shop Boys at globally accessible best. These were heavily instrumented, maximalist arrangements designed to induce sensory overload, and most of the time it worked magnificently, opening with a succession of four lethal disco uppercuts. Even relatively demure moments like ‘It Always Comes As A Surprise’ and ‘A Red Letter Day’ were crowd-pleasing successes. Bilingual yielded three UK Top 10 singles in addition to a dreamy remix of David Bowie’s ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ that hit the Top 20, asserting their continuing relevance in a rapidly changing pop environment. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘Before’; ‘Se A Vide É (That’s The Way Life Is)’; ‘Single-Bilingual’; ‘A Red Letter Day’

7. Super (2016)

Continuing in the same bright, bold vein as Electric, PSB’s 13^th album re-asserted Tennant and Lowe’s relevance as they enter the fourth decade of their imperious career. Full of clean, modern production, once again courtesy of Stuart Price, Super took the extended dancefloor workouts of its predecessor and moulded them into brash, punky and playlist-ready arrangements. Having spent their entire career fearlessly heading into the future, embracing new styles, it was something of a surprise to hear Tennant getting specifically autobiographical and nostalgic in tracks like ‘The Pop Kids’, excellent though it is, but the pinballing craziness of tracks like ‘Pazzo!’ and the EDM-meets-nineties-house of ‘Groovy’ showed a creative restlessness and willingness to mix things up that has been a hallmark of PSB’s thirty glorious years in pop. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘The Pop Kids’

6. Please (1986)

The four singles from the Pets’ debut album Please are some of the choicest cuts from their entire catalogue, from the sublimely textured ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Love Comes Quickly’ to the rushing euphoria of ‘Suburbia’ and the devilishly clever ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’, the last of which may as well be a mission statement for Tennant and Lowe’s entire career. All arriving consecutively, there’s a good case for the first half of Please being the strongest opening to any pop album ever. However, its second half suffers slightly from anonymity, being too similar to most other techno-pop of the period. With lots of cold keyboard sounds and stiff drum machine beats, the sounds might be slightly embryonic but there’s nevertheless a strong sense of identity, with almost all of the key components of Pet Shop Boys’ songwriting already firmly in place. (LISTEN)

Singles: ‘West End Girls’; ‘Love Comes Quickly’; ‘Opportunites (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’; ‘Suburbia’