Posted at 11:48 AM, 10 December 2009 -
The press has been publishing the inevitable "best of the year" lists. These are the Xenomania songs/albums that are starting to appear on those lists:
The Quietus - 40 Albums Of The Year
32. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
For anyone who regards their first (and arguably definitive) singles compilation Discography as a glittering high watermark in modern pop, who views Neil Tennant as maybe Morrissey's only serious rival to the mantle of England's greatest living pop eccentric, or who has ever found themselves lost in stupefying reverie to 'West End Girls', 'Suburbia', 'Being Boring' et al, Yes willbe greeted as a triumphant return to form, comfortably their best collection of songs since 1993's near-faultless Very.
musicOMH - Top 50 Best Albums Of 2009
35. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
There are hardcore 'fans' of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe whose hands flew up in horror at confirmation that Girls Aloud's hit factory Xenomania would be producing this album.
But Brian Higgins and his crew have brought new sounds and methods to the Pets' arsenal, while Tennant's lyrics have rarely been more poignant.
WHAT WE SAID: "A super-concentrated hit of everything there is to enjoy about the Pet Shop Boys: danceable yet everyday pop, with irony behind the warmth and warmth behind the irony. One of their best." - Darren Harvey
Sasha Frere-Jones (The New Yorker): The Best Recordings of 2009
3. Pet Shop Boys - "Love etc."
Pet Shop Boys have so many written good pop songs over such a long period, and with so little diminution of quality, that their lack of American super-stardom can only be attributed to occult forces. I don’t think critical analysis can solve this one.
Planet Sound - Top 50 singles of 2009
5. Pet Shop Boys - "Love etc."
musicOMH - Top 50 Best Albums Of 2009
29. Annie - Don't Stop
Anne Lilia Berge Strand's route to market with Don't Stop was fraught with drama. At various points Girls Aloud, Alex Kapranos and Xenomania were all involved in its gestation... and then she parted company from Island before it was released. Fast forward a year and it finally sees the light of day. Just as well she didn't stop, for this is superior electropop in the Saint Etienne mould.
WHAT WE SAID: "Don't Stop is one of the best pop albums of 2009. Fingers crossed we don't have to wait four years until the next one." - Michael Cragg
Planet Sound - Top 50 albums of 2009
33. Annie - Don't Stop
Labels: Annie, Best of 2009, lists, Pet Shop Boys
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