Post-modern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, Pet Shop Boys offer wry yet strangely affecting cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of synth washes and drum machine rhythms. After first emerging in the mid-’80s with “West End Girls” and “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money),” Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe quickly established themselves as hitmaking singles artists who were also able to craft emotionally resonant albums, like 1988’s Introspective and 1990’s Behaviour. The duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house music to thoughtful synth pop without losing their distinctive style in the process. Continuing to evolve artistically, Pet Shop Boys incorporated Latin music on 1996’s Bilingual, expanded into theater and ballet, and morphed into elder statesmen of electronic pop, still able to release interesting albums after more than 30 years, as evidenced by highlights like 2016’s Super and 2020’s Hotspot.
New Order and Pet Shop Boys will embark on a co-headlining North American tour this September.
The 11-date “Unity Tour” will kick off Sept. 5 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto and include stops in cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, Vancouver and San Francisco before wrapping October 2nd at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Tickets will go on sale Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. local time, with complete information available via New Order and Pet Shop Boys‘ respective websites.
