Note: this is the special edition which includes a second CD with a bonus track as well as 6 dub mixes.
The Boys returned to their normal dance synth pop with this release after 2006's so-so album, Fundamental. Here are the clever lyrics, the drum machines, the bouncy synths layered over pads. Typical PSB. In other words, it's easy to listen/dance to. While I'm sure this would work well in a dance club, I'm too old for that mess so I choose to listen to this poolside; it works there, too.
Metacritic has it rated at 71 out of 100.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #32 (May 9, 2009)
Tracks: I like Love Etc., Beautiful People, Did You See Me Coming?, and Pandemonium. I also dig the slow groove of King Of Rome. The duo chooses to butcher Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite in their song All Over The World. They should have left that one alone (the remix on disc 2 isn't any better). That track, along with Building A Wall and Legacy, are the tracks here I want to skip.
Bonus disc: This starts out with This Used To Be The Future, a great song with guest vocals by Philip Oakey of The Human League. Don't know why this wasn't included on the album. The 6 remixes are pretty much what you would expect from dance music, i.e., more concerned with beat than music and lyrics. I will admit that I enjoyed the remix of The Way It Used To Be (Left Of Love Dub).
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Purchased as my youngest son was going through a PSB phase, the first disc of this set got a lot of play time in my truck when it was released.
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