Word: musicalized
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...other in England. That internationalism pervades into the album, which layers African singing over jazz- and Latin-influenced four-four house beats, throwing in a touch of disco along the way. The production is flawless, and the percussion work and lush flute on "Kariba" is infectious. And their dance music credentials come to the fore when the album finds its groove, as it does with the deep vocals of "Got to Find a Way." There's a too-much-of-the-sameness in the last few instrumental tracks, which seem indistinguishable, but that's a minor quibble compared...
...Shop Boys have always made erudite dance music. Few other groups, after all, would take a song title from an Anthony Trollope novel (1993's "Can You Forgive Her?"). In Nightlife, their first studio album since 1996's Bilingual, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe stick to their forte...
True to its title, Nightlife sees the boys step up a notch from their traditional synth-pop to out-and-out dance music, opening with the one-two punch of "For Your Own Good" and "Closer to Heaven," both of which adopt the sharp high hats and deep basslines of trance music. But no matter how much the music pumps, no matter how optimistic the lyrics, Tennant's vocals continue to inject their trademark hopelessness on such pieces as "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk." "I Don't Know What You Want...
...Cupid darts across the unclothed scene, her bow unstrung and one wing dangling. Someone jostles the stringed spear of a chitarrone, and two primped and padded militaries saunter on stage left. This is the dress rehearsal of Cavalli's Giasone, a baroque opera put on by the Harvard Early Music Society...
...chaste are no less adorned. What matters is the glittering recitative--the strange power of the counter-tenor and his haunting arias. The characters and their conflicts are secondary amusements; harmless distractions as each singer is guided or goaded into glory by the basso continuo. What matters is the music...