Pet Shop Boys Announce New Album ‘Elysium’: Watch “Invisible” Short Film

Robbie Daw | June 11, 2012 3:40 am

Pop maestros Pet Shop Boys have announced that the title of their next studio album will be Elysium (due in September). The LP, the UK duo’s 11th, was produced earlier this year in Los Angeles by Grammy winner Andrew Dawson. “They’ve never done a record in Los Angeles before,” Dawson, who’s also worked with Kanye West and fun., told us in April. “They wanted to be around that thing, and get that classic L.A. sound — the L.A. players and all that stuff.”

True to that statement, the Boys have released a short film for upcoming album track “Invisible” (watch above), which was directed by Los Angeles artist/film-maker Brian Bress. The duo’s official site notes, “Like several tracks on Elysium, ‘Invisible’ features backing vocals by singer/songwriter James Fauntleroy and veteran singers Oren, Maxine and Julie Waters whose long singing career spans sessions with The Jackson Five to Adele.”

“Invisible” hasn’t been declared an official single by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Rather, their site states the track was unveiled “to give an idea of the album’s sound.”

“Look at me, the absentee, disappearing finally / goodbye / is it magic or the truth? / strange psychology or justified by the end of youth,” Tennant sings atop the moody, lush synth ballad.

The lyrics come dangerously close to being a metaphor for Pet Shop Boys’ own perception of themselves within the grand scheme of pop — and we say “dangerously” because, really, the idea of them calling it quits scares us to death! Let’s hope, for the sake of music itself, that’s not the case.

What do you think of the duo’s first offering from Elysium? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter.