Album Review: Pet Shop Boys – A Man From The Future
Pet Shop Boys are the gift from the 80’s that keeps on giving. Since their inception in 1981, the duo has released some of the most iconic pop tracks known to man, from West End Girls to their cover of Always on My Mind. Over four decades later the pair are still crafting excellent electronic tunes, and on this latest release have turned their attention to the more Avant-garde in aid of a story that needs to be told.
Opener Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know is a slow-building character study that introduces listeners to the focus of the album, legendary mathematician Alan Turing, with actress and narrator Juliet Stevenson reading biographical passages while soft piano and strings rise and fall. Singer Neil Tennent doesn’t arrive until the two-minute mark, sounding as youthful and emotionally rich as ever. At four-minutes in a children’s choir sings the chorus, echoing the child-like joy of Alan meeting someone that shared in his passion for science. He Dreamed of Machines continues the slow-rising structure, adding drum machines and synths to the mix. This and following track The Enigma follow Alan’s progression from university to working for the government, the music working as an engaging base for Juliet’s well-spoken reading.
Other Ranks traverses Turing’s initial cypher technology, whilst also talking about his life as a gay man in the 1940’s. The instrumental change at the mid-point hints at the big band music of the time, while modern reggaeton-esc beats stomp away over the top. It’s jarring at first, but the inclusion is inspired and becomes enjoyable as it continues. The Memory and The Control talks of Alan’s first conceptions of the modern-day computer, while The Trial goes into Alan’s conviction of ‘gross indecency’ in 1952, after admitting and not rescinding his relationship with another man. It’s a heartbreaking story that only gets more distressing with Only in His Death, discussing Turing’s demise. The title track concludes the album with the modern take on Turing’s contribution, both to the war and science, including an extract of ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologising on behalf of the British Government for how he and millions of others was treated. It acts as a poignant conclusion to the album.
A Man from the Future is certainly a far cry from the pop world that Pet Shop Boys usually inhabit, but from start to finish it is an audibly stunning piece of IDM. It’s also a well thought-out and executed biography of a man who may be known by name, but whose life for many perhaps remains a mystery – until now. It’s lengthy, and must be consumed from start to finish, but if in the right setting, maybe with a drink of choice or laying in a dark room, this album will take you away.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
