The Pet Shop Boys Preview New Track, Announce New Album! !

As much as every top 40 artist these days blends pop with electronic, the Pet Shop Boys, the duo behind 1980s hit “West End Girls” and many more singles, have balanced these elements for years. But, even though this sound has been adopted by too many artists to mention, the Pet Shop Boys are still pushing forward with their career, and a new album is just one of their efforts. Titled Elysium, the Boys’ 11^th studio album hits stores in September.
Elysium was produced by Andrew Dawson in Los Angeles earlier this year. According to Dawson, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe never recorded there before. In an interview, Dawson, who has worked with Kanye West and fun., said: “They wanted to be around that thing, and get that classic L.A. sound— the L.A. players and all that stuff.”

The “All Over The World” duo appeared to have immersed themselves in the City of Angels beyond the recording studio and released, this week, a short film corresponding with one of Elysium’s tracks, a song called “Invisible.” Directed by Brian Bress, also based in Los Angeles, the short film accompanying “Invisible” gives fans a preview of Elysium’s sound. In talking about the album’s sound on their website, they wrote: “Like several tracks on ‘Elysium,’ “Invisible” features backing vocals by singer/songwriter James Fauntleroy and veteran singers Oren, Maxine and Julie Waters whose long singing career spans sessions with The Jackson Five to Adele.”
Back in September 2011, the band announced they were going into the studio, and started recording with Dawson in January. Around this time, they additionally released a collection of B-sides, called Format. A follow-up to their two-disc mid-1990s collection Alternative, Format placed at No. 26 on the U.K. charts its first week.