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Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Mon 13 Jan 2020, 7:10 am
by Future Lover
Revolutionary concept, but if we shun nickname, maybe they will stop?

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 3:08 pm
by madsnielsen
:dance: Finally had a chance listening to Hotspot. Hoping for a miracle. Wow what a beautiful track!! Pet Shop Boys at their absolute best.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 3:18 pm
by zenorac
Having listened to it two or three times now, it's a bit of a masterpiece. It's great to get back to proper songs after the last two albums of party music. There are some genuinely touching moments on this record (You Are The One/Hoping For A Miracle). The meditations on getting older and reminiscing on a hedonistic past (Will O The Wisp/I Don't Wanna) are exactly what I want from Pet Shop Boys in 2020. And Neil is absolutely right, this is the most melodic album they've ever produced. Biggest surprise for me is how much better Burning The Heather is placed amongst this collection. It's a beautiful, beautiful song. I couldn't be happier with this album. Such a shame they won't be touring it.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 3:25 pm
by Undertaker
Ooo Amazon have delivered it already. First four songs are very good. Will o the Wisp is amazing!

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 4:12 pm
by y3potential
I love Wedding in Berlin..! There. I've said it.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 4:14 pm
by y3potential
You Are The One is achingly beautiful.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 4:43 pm
by Ghost within this house
Trying to live life, and find time to listen to Hotspot. It would be the busiest day at work for ages, wouldn't it.

Haven't got down to Hoping for a miracle, but


Only the dark


Wow. gosh. I am actually weeping. It is the most exquisite piece of nostalgia ever ever ever.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 4:55 pm
by Gary1962
"Will-O-The-Wisp", reminded me of early Pet Shop Boys, a great opening track.

"You Are The One", a good PSB ballad, really like the piano on the track, oozes class, love it!

"Happy People", has a "Bilingual" vibe, nice house piano, uplifting, but average by PSB standards.

"Dreamland", awful and unbelieveable they chose this track as the first singleShouldn't have been on the album, Next!

"Hoping For A Miracle", a dreamy ballad, lovely pad sounds, Neil's vocals are excellent. Really like this track, an album highlight.

"I Don't Wanna", great bassline, totally ruined by the awful pitch bend synth parts, this could have been a real classic, ditch the pitch bend synth and you have a good solid track.

"Monkey Business", you either love or hate this track, for me it is the latter, just seems a mess to me, it is another track that shouldn't have been on the album, should have been a B side at best, certainly not a goog enough track to have been chosen as a single.

"Only The Dark" is wonderful, very "Human League", one of the best tracks on the album. A great ballad with strong vocal and a warm synth backdrop. Excellent production too.

"Burning The Heather", the jewel in the crown, a fabulous track and one of the Pet Shop Boys best ever ballads.

Wedding In Berlin, my god this is an album filler, why on earth they decided to include this on the album I have no idea, tragic end to the album, I never want to hear this track again!

So, overall the album is better than I was anticipating and there are moments when the album shines, with tracks like, "Will-O-The-Wisp", "You Are The One", "Hoping For A Miracle", "Only The Dark", and "Burning The Heather", the bulk of the rest are dreadful (Dreamland, Monkey Business & Wedding In Berlin), though, "I Don't Wanna", does have potential. At times it seems they tried to hard on some songs, to make them work and the album in parts, seems forced, but a massive improvement on "Electric" and better than "Super".

I would rate the album 6/10

Overall, I don't think Stuart Price has done the Pet Shop Boys any favours with the last 3 albums he has produced and I will be glad to see someone else produce their next album (hopefully there will be one).

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 5:05 pm
by scousepsbfan
I'm a tad addicted to Happy People, just had it on repeat in the car.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 5:07 pm
by rashomon
Dang it!

I can’t wait to leave the office and get home for that first listen...

Metropolitan line ... please behave!

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 5:10 pm
by Undertaker
Id say only Will-o-the-Wisp is a proper single material stomper. The rest sounds like excellent B-Sides. Thats not a criticism or bad thing, its just a very solid set of songs.

On first listen, theres not one dud really. Wedding in Berlin isnt great on first listen and another song was a bit repetitive. I think it was 'I Dont Wanna'

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 5:49 pm
by CroMagnon
After three listens all the way through, here are my initial thoughts:

1) The songs have a lovely, warm, very 'human' sound, which is very refreshing after the previous two albums. Neil's voice sounds wonderful. His vocal is weakest on Dreamland.

2) The overall feel harks back to mid to late 90s PSB. Of previous albums, I think it's closest in feel to Nightlife in its sound and theme, with the protagonist of that album, now 20 years older, looking back with a mix of regret and nostalgia, while still being capable of occasionally raging against the dying of the light!

3) I'm not sure about the 'new' bit in Burning the Heather. The lyrics of the additional verse are a bit contrived and odd. I might end up preferring the radio edit.

4) Only the dark is incredibly 80s, but is not a song PSB would ever have recorded in the 80s, which I like! It's a sort of 'alternative reality' version of what 80s PSB would have sounded like if they chose to sound 80s in the 80s.

5) I think it does make sense for neither An open mind or Decide to be on the album, even though both are great. Neither have the necessary warmth.

6) Highlights for me, so far: Willo, You are the one, Hoping for a miracle, Burning the heather.

7) They seem to have struggled a bit with the endings of tracks, with a mix of rapid fades and sudden stops. Maybe the 'segueing' of tracks will alleviate this once listening to an official release? :) The album is very much designed to be listened to as a single piece, rather than cherry-picked for individual tracks I think.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 5:55 pm
by luca857
Great to read all these diverse impressions and feelings from the forum members. I'm patiently waiting for Earth to rotate a little bit more before I can access the tracks.

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 6:12 pm
by joe stalin
I’m still waiting to hear it

I’m also waiting for Drico’s take

Unsure which I’m more eager for ;-)

Re: Hotspot - Forum Reactions.

Posted: Thu 23 Jan 2020, 6:12 pm
by rashomon
Might install this so I can listen tonight via Spotify

Appropriate app name also Image

Image