Behaviour- The Pet Shop Boys (1990)
Behaviour- Pet Shop Boys (Released 22nd October 1990)
Track Listing:
1) Being Boring 2) This Must Be The Place I've Waited Years To Leave 3) To Face The Truth 4) How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? 5) Only The Wind 6) My October Symphony 7) So Hard 8) Nervously 9) The End Of The World 10) Jealousy On this, their fourth studio album, it is a little like Tennant and Lowe have been told to be on their best behaviour (if you'll excuse the pun). Instead of more fleshed-out dance tracks (such as 'Hit Music' and 'I Want A Lover') like on their previous albums, with 'Behaviour' they have opted for a mellower, more reserved approach- sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. The lyrics of first track 'Being Boring' are wonderfully clever (would we expect anything less from these two?) and really get you listening and draw you in as a listener. 'How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?' is another classic PSB track, made to sound even more sophisticated with the addition of a surprisingly effective guitar riff during the chorus in particular. Unfortunately, it is here that is all starts to go a little bit downhill. 'Only The Wind', leaves the whole of the first side falling a little flat, whilst the majority of the second side is pretty heavy-going and constantly threatens to sound tired and sluggish (with the exception of the chorus of first single 'So Hard', which has enough bite to make up for the majority of the waywardness of the other tracks). That is, until we reach the final track on the album 'Jealousy', which doesn't sound like anything particularly special (by the Pet Shop Boys's standards anyway) as a standalone track, but blossoms in the context of a bittersweet album closer. With its fabulous drum break and concerto-like finish, it sees the duo at their grandiose, majestic best. If only they had let go a little in a similar way on some of the other tracks. This could have been a spectacular album, but as a result of the duo's frustrating reservedness within the ten songs here, 'Behaviour' merely slots neatly into their back catalogue, always to be over-shadowed by the past success of 'Actually'. Of course, it would be pointless (and completely out of character) for them to repeat exactly the same formulae they had used in their previous works, but somehow it just feels as if everything is rather stiff and unnecessarily reserved. It's a pleasant enough album and has Tennant and Lowe's mark as songwriters and musicians all over it, but it is perhaps, at times, just a little TOO pleasant. N.B. If you want to hear some truly stunning Pet Shop Boys's tracks from around this time, take a listen to 'Further Listening (1990-1991)', which includes extended mixes of the better tracks on 'Behaviour', as well as some not featured on the album itself including 'Was It Worth It?', 'DJ Culture', and the particularly delicious 'Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend'.
