It’s a shame the Pet Shop Boys don’t receive enough plaudits for their pop music. They deserve to be the highest ranking among all pop acts in the last twenty years. Since forming in the early 80s they have been one of the most consistent outfits ever. They have committed themselves to the unfathomable: remaining true to their roots and vision always, yet never turning stale nor shunning experimentation. In fact, they have never made a turn that didn’t suit their sound. Bad records just don’t exist in their DNA.

Fundamental, their ninth full length record, takes yet another turn. They have lead us into darker territory more than ever before. Fundamental is riddled with minor hooks and social-political gestures. Not that they haven’t ever strayed down this path before (check out their stripped 2002 disc, Release), but this album is full of an intensity not heard elsewhere in their entire catalog.

"Psychological" opens the record with its scrolling bass line and the Kraftwerk-esque treatment which mixes with criticism on the War on Terror remarkably well. Another highlight, "The Sodom and Gomorrah Show" sounds like a Pet Shop Boys and Electric Light Orchestra mash-up: which is a triumph not a tragedy. Producer Trevor Horn (Yes, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal) adds his orchestral touches without mucking with the Pet Shop Boys’ message. Tracks like "Numb" and "Luna Park" only benefit from the production. Their more somber textures serve as breaking points from the previous songs without straying entirely from the record’s theme.

Highlights would be the mid-80s-esque Bush and Blair bash "I’m With Stupid" (which portrays them as lovers) and the overtly catchy, "Minimal." The Pet Shop Boys balance their moral disgust and their pop well. So well, that many of the political views are undermined by lyrical ambiguity. The overall dour mood of the record can be summed up with the chorus of "Twentieth Century": "Sometimes the solution is worse than the problem".

Note: The Special Edition double disk has dance remixes of songs from the record as well as the duet with Elton John covering Dusty Springfield’s "In Private."

Artist: Scissor Sisters
Album: Ta-Dah
Label: Universal/Motown

Jake Shears and company have continued down that golden brick road of pop music with Ta-Dah. Their self-titled debut album from 2004 has left a crater of success in England and smaller successive spots in the US. They went from being cultish unknowns performing at New York dives like The Cock to being British tabloid-worthy stars. Having spent a year in personal purgatory, the Sisters sound poised and ready to strike once more (ever flamboyantly).

"Ta-Dah" is an effervescent affair which sounds as much as a rag-bag mixture of Disco, glam, rock posturing and 80’s synth-pop as its 2004 predecessor. The only problem (a picayune one at that) is that it lacks some of the spunk that made their other songs so magical and addictive. The song sequencing may play partly as the culprit as it isn’t as evenly paced. However, this is all minor compared to the romp of a good time that Ta-Dah provides.

"I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’", "Intermission" and the ‘I’m Still Standing’ like funk of "She’s My Man" all have Sir Elton’s touch (he co-wrote two of them) and influence. The sugar-coated, "Ooh" is almost cloyingly sweet but the groove is so catchy you easily forget your grievances. The ecstatic, "Paul McCartney" is a balls to the wall jam though the title is a bit perplexing. Even the puckish "I Can’t Decide" and the Beatles rip off, "Land of a Thousand Words" are worth repeating.

Many of the songs do sound akin to the 2004 album, but this is sign that so far they are consistent in making sparks fly. Hopefully with even pacing and some good luck the Scissor Sisters will be around for a long time.