Pet Shop Boys – Elysium

Ignored this album for 5 years. I regret I did it.
The best song in this album is "Everything Means Something".
Probably the best song since the golden days of Introspective.
I can't understand why the singles picking were weird (Leaving/Memories...)

Elysium is better than Release,
When Elysium came out, I listened to it a few times. It usually takes me a few listens to get to know each song, and I had mixed feelings about the album.
Leaving is brilliant, although the obscure lyrics are actually a bit depressing.
Invisible is definitely also depressing, I think its like the aftermath of Being Boring, after the 70's, 90's and in the 2010' you are old and invisible to the younger generations...

Winner, well, that was written for the London Olympics... Ego Music is actually the favourite song in the album of my 7 year old kid, along with 'Hold On' brilliant uplifting, music.

Each album has one or two songs I just can't stand, and in this case, it is 'Your Early Stuff' seems like a filler track to the album.
I guess the Elysium experiment to expand Pet Shop Boys ability to write music in different styles sometimes makes fans very dissappointed.
But I think this is a nice 'grown up' album, as they stated, a chill out masterpiece.

I think this album has got some unfair criticism. Granted it's no Behaviour, Actually or Very, but there's still some great material here. Leaving, Invisible, Requiem In Denim and Leopardskin and Ego Music are my favorites. The album does have one of their worst songs ever in Hold On though, and I still maintain that A Face Like That should have been the lead single over Winner (which is definitely one of their weaker tracks too.) I've found the B-sides of the era so far to be some of the best songs they've ever done though, particularly A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi, The Way Through The Woods and In His Imagination, so they definitely haven't lost their touch. Anyone who's looking for them to produce music with the same sound as their 80's albums though may struggle to get into this one. I wouldn't say its their best album, but far from their worst.

Very disappointing album. I was expecting NOTHING like this. I was hoping for another album like 'Yes,' or even 'Fundamental.' In my opinion, this album has three solid tracks - these being "Leaving," "Invisible," and the closing track "Requiem..." Other than that, I find nothing of interest here.
As for the deluxe edition of 'Elysium,' the instrumentals are nice novelties to own, but why add another version of "The Way Through The Woods"? Granted, it's a great song, but they really should have put the fan-favorite "A Certain (Je Ne Sais Quoi)" as the bonus track - either in its original or remixed form.
I'm a dedicated PSB fan, but I must say that I am beyond saddened by 'Elysium,' as it really reflects the age of both Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

Awful album, really...

It's always been a tricky situation whenever 80s pop bands tried to make it into the 90s and beyond and it's the same case with PSB here. Their latest album lacks originality and doesn't offer anything special. I do believe that this duo is a talented pair with a lot of good tracks under their belt but this later offering will be forgotten rather quick. At least their previous album had three good tracks (Love Etc., More Than A Dream, The Way It Used To Be) but there are no surprises here. And if you consider this album amazing, my only recommendation is to listen to more music; in all fairness there are ton of better music out there even by 2012 standards. With that said I think the only good thing here is the opening track and that's where it ends.