Even though they haven’t released a studio album since 2020, Pet Shop Boys never seem far away from the music pages. A tour with New Order, a Soft Cell collaboration, a Noel Gallagher remix, an EP, etc. Nonetheless started its campaign with the strings and classical swirl of first single “Loneliness” before it ends with a throbbing dancefloor ready beat. Neil Tennant sings that “you make me feel like nobody else can” on “Feel” over a bed of synths and a melody that sounds like a sped up ballad.
Working with superstar producer James Ford, this was the highest charting UK album for the duo since the mid 90s. Many of the tracks look inward including “Why Am I Dancing” that has ecstatic horns to start as an old raver wonders why they are dancing/celebrating while being alone. Tennant raps a verse on “New London Boy” that captures the joy and hardships of joining the gay scene in the big smoke in the 70s.
Nonetheless is a well produced album that sees Tennant and partner Chris Lowe expertly record their sound in 2024. As the album goes on, a few of the songs are just OK. “A New Bohemia” is a sweeping ballad and “The Schlager Hit Parade” adds a strummed acoustic guitar and a chorus that is the most immediate on the album. It’s not revelatory but instead works as a solid outing for this electronic royalty.
The deluxe version adds 4 redone classic tracks for about an extra $10. For the most part, the reworkings take out the personality and punch that made the originals classics to begin with. The hard beat of “Heart” is washed out and the story behind “Being Boring” disappears. Best of the bunch is “It’s a Sin” that for better or worse updates the sound to a more modern approach.
Nonetheless – 7/10
Deluxe Extras – 6/10
The Light Appears 
I’ve always had a passing interesting the Pet Shop Boys so I appreciated this history about some of their music.
They seem to always have pristine production and interesting lyrics. Certainly a favourite of mine for the last 40 years.