The Pet Shop Boys (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe) could be a formidable singles act if only they didn't take themselves so seriously. Their breakthrough hit, "West End Girls," was as catchy as anything on the radio in 1986, but the appeal of its enticing bass line and foreboding synth riffs was almost nullified by peevish spoken asides and the cryptic posturing of the duo's lyrics. Heralding themselves as prophets of doom for the British youth culture, the Pet Shop Boys came across more like crybabies who hadn't got their allowance.
fulfillment. "I love you, you pay my rent" is the prevailing gospel. But if human communication has dwindled to the exchange of dollars and cents, then Tennant and Lowe haven't spent enough, because there's not much on
Actually to get the listener into the transaction. The generic dance beats have all the sound appeal of a busy airport runway, and the off-the-top-of-the-head lyrics are much too vague to make their case. The protagonist of "It's a Sin" may have "always been the one to blame," but there's little detail to make us care – his claims to heroism are rarely more than a whine.
The duo's vocal deficiencies are painfully displayed on "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" – which boasts an appearance by Dusty Springfield. Any song that starts with the line "You always wanted a lover/I only wanted a job" has explosive potential, but matched with Britain's best-ever pop singer, the Pet Shop Boys can barely manage a peep. Tennant and Lowe do get points for bringing Springfield back from chart limbo and also for getting out of her way. Springfield's impassioned gusts run away with the song and turn it into an infectious, Top Forty romp – indeed, she sounds as relevant as she did in 1966.
But "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" is the lone bright spot on an otherwise dispirited and dull album. For an album that attempts to teach a lesson in economics as emotional history, Actually inspires little more than window shopping: take a quick look, then walk on by. (RS 514)
ROB HOERBURGER
