Pet Shop Boys Electric --- First Thoughts

This morning I downloaded Electric, the new PSB album.  This evening, after a lovely dinner with friends, I had a first listen.

The instruments and production are expensive and first rate.  As always, the song writing is at least a cut above whatever else is out there.  Thursday is the standout track on a first listen, succeeding by combining the best of old PSB with some new elements.  Other songs, while good, feel a bit B side --- more repackaging of old elements rather than a new direction or a new take on old directions.

Anna Calvi

It's a rare and beautiful experience to discover a new musical universe that is complete, coherent and intriguing. British musician Anna Calvi has created just such, and while her universe is wild and beautiful, it is also inviting and accessible. Trained as a violinist,  Calvi plays electric guitar in a way that is her own, homaging the past without being constrained by it. As a vocalist, she subtly evokes other singers without allowing one to settle --- not an easy move when most singers sound so much alike that Pink can be positioned as edgy.

As for the songs, Calvi is a superb story teller. Lyrics, arrangements and instrumentation are just "so," without a bit extra. One standout for me is Suzanne and I, a bravura workout for the senses.