Fundamental by Pet Shop Boys
Widely acclaimed as PSB’s return to form circa ‘Very.’ However, lead single ‘I’m With Stupid,’ despite its deliciously cutting lyrics on the Blair-Bush relationship, can’t measure up to ‘Can You Forgive Her.’ The highlight is instead ‘The Sodom and Gomorrah Show.’ The OTT-ness and religious imagery bring to mind ‘It’s A Sin’ but it’s its own beast. ‘Do you want to go to the Sodom and Gomorrah show?’ Hell yeah!
Elsewhere, the Boys explore a darker synth-pop sound to go with the doom and gloom of the sometimes clunky lyrics. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, all this moroseness has inspired the Boys to come up with their strongest set of tunes in a while. So if comparing “Fundamental’ to ‘Very’ is premature, it’s nevertheless an indication of its strength that comparisons are being made in the first place.
The design for the 2-CD limited edition boasts an all-black CD jewel case (to complement my all-white CD case of Faye Wong’s Ridiculous Thoughts) housing a lyric booklet in glossy black, all the better to set off the neon-light design of the song titles. The bonus disc ‘Fundamentalism’ comes with remixes and two new tracks ‘Fugitive’ and ‘In Private,’ which features Elton John. ‘Fugitive’ would have fit right in on ‘Fundamental,’ while ‘In Private’ is an anthemic stomper.

Fisherman’s Woman by Emiliana Torrini
Folksy Italian-Icelandic chanteuse, morphed from earlier incarnation as cool queen of chill on ‘Love in the Time of Science.’ Not like Bjork. At any rate, why does hailing from the same region necessitate a comparison between artistes? Is geography destiny in music?
Highlights are ‘Sunny Road’ and ‘Heartstopper.’ The unusual mix of the tales of a defiant and unrepentant protagonist with lovely melodies and delicate vocals works nicely. Torrini grounds her stories with a slice-of-life ordinariness that makes them more compelling. On ‘Sunny Road,’ she sings that she’s ‘running out of space/n here’s my address and number/just in case.’

It’s Never Been Like That by Phoenix
What is plain from the get-go of the title and album opener “Napoleon Says,’ is that Phoenix are reinventing themselves on their third album. Out goes the laidback, unflappable cool groove of ‘Alphabetical’ that they perfected over two albums and in come the guitars and the drums. Their Frenchness seems more pronounced in the odd lyrical phrasing or did I just not notice this before? I miss the Phoenix of old, but it’s nice to see them striking out in a new direction. They’ve shaken things up to deliver a consistently listenable album of toe-tapping guitar pop and it seems churlish to cling onto the past. For those seeking an easier transition, head for ‘Long Distance Call’ and ‘One Time Too Many’ first.

Veneer by Jose Gonzalez
Veneer has been a surprise top ten fixture in the UK largely on the strength of ‘Heartbeats,’ an inspired cover of The Knife’s electro-punk original. It was accompanied by a whimsical and irresistible video of tens of thousands of coloured rubber balls bouncing through the streets of San Francisco, which was also the TV ad for Sony’s Bravia television sets.
So what about the rest of the album? Gonzalez doesn’t veer far from the territory staked out by Heartbeats, acoustic guitar folk-pop paired with intimate vocals. The first half of the album works better, including the grower of an opener ‘Slow Moves’ and the OC-approved ‘Crosses.’ Unfortunately, the latter half of the album melds into one undistinguishable whole. Still, most of the songs clock in at under 3 minutes, which has the canny effect of leaving you wanting more on the tracks you like and not vexing one too much otherwise.
As the man himself sings ‘my moves are slow, but soon they’ll know.’