Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless

'Nonetheless' is the fifteenth Pet Shop Boys album. You don't get to do 15 albums unless you're a bit good. And yes, Pet Shop Boys are a bit good. Arguably the greatest British pop act of all time, the duo of Neil and Chris have managed to stay at the sharp end of pop for almost 40 years with a pretty much-unchanged philosophy of classic witty yet evocative lyricism and electronic dance sounds that have gently moved with the times while retaining a classic Pet Shop Boys sound. You get all that warm and familiar glow on this latest record, but as the years go by, there's an added sense of gravitas and feeling, a feeling of luxuriating in a comforting pop genius.

Almost every song here sounds timeless in its own way. The dreamy melancholy of single 'Loneliness' and the sashaying grace of 'Dancing Star' mixed with the typical knowing lyricism and playfulness on songs like 'Bullet For Narcissus'. James Ford gives the album a fresh sound on production, but there's nothing jarring or unexpected here. You don't need to reinvent the wheel when the wheel you have is the best wheel in town. Still at the top of their game and occupying their own esteemed place in the British pop pantheon, the Pet Shop Boys are as familiarly brilliant as ever.