Super
by Pet Shop Boys
  • Record Label: X2
  • Release Date: Apr 1, 2016
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Mixmag
    Apr 8, 2016
    90
    With everything lathered in exquisite, 90s-sounding euphoria, the duo prove to be irresistible, once again.
  2. PopMatters
    Apr 4, 2016
    90
    It seems the combination of the Pet Shop Boys and Price is a match made in pop heaven, as he’s back for SUPER and once again presents the duo at their very best.
  3. AllMusic
    Apr 7, 2016
    80
    PSB B-sides are larks and experiments of the highest order, so while Super scores as high as the crossover-ish Electric, it's built more for the fan who puts "Paninaro" at the top of their list, well ahead of "West End Girls."
  5. Drowned In Sound
    Apr 6, 2016
    80
    The thing is absolutely laced with wall-to-wall bangers.
  6. DIY Magazine
    Apr 1, 2016
    80
    Super is confirmation of their position at the head of the pop pantheon with an album brimming with excitement and fizzing with energy.
  7. musicOMH.com
    Apr 1, 2016
    80
    Super, as you will have gathered, is both old and new. It is old in the sense that all the Pet Shop Boys’ calling cards are here--the vocal clarity, the production precision, the wry observations on daytime ordinariness and night time escapism. Yet the nostalgia trip is a good move, with Price giving their beats a firmer kick.
  8. Boston Globe
    Mar 31, 2016
    80
    What drives Super, though, is the duo’s overarching vision, which helps the album flow together like a night at a club: one that Pet Shop Boys exist inside and above, simultaneously.
  9. The Guardian
    Mar 31, 2016
    80
    On its own terms, Super succeeds brilliantly. Price, who has also done great work for Madonna and New Order, is adept at highlighting the core values of pop veterans while adding a contemporary edge. Every track sounds punchy, urgent and laser bright.
  10. Q Magazine
    Mar 24, 2016
    80
    Here are songs that only the Pet Shop Boys could record. [May 2016, p.113]
    All this publication's reviews
  11. Magnet
    Apr 21, 2016
    70
    Musically, long-time fans will appreciate that very little variation has been mad on their theme. [No. 130, p.61]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Spin
    Apr 7, 2016
    70
    Super rates as less essential than 2013’s marvelous Electric because I don’t hear another “Thursday” or “Love Is a Bourgeois Construct,” no grand conceptual coups like their Springsteen cover.
  13. The Line of Best Fit
    Apr 6, 2016
    70
    Super is a grower--a brave rejection of pipe and slippers, embracing the mythical dance floor with admirably vacuous experimentation, even if it mines the mid-nineties, when dance music grew least interesting.
  14. Exclaim
    Apr 5, 2016
    70
    The duo's 13th studio album, Super, will appeal to the cult following that's stuck with them over the years while reaffirming their continued relevance and influence.
  15. Uncut
    Mar 24, 2016
    70
    [Super] has some darkly twinkling moments.... The rest is at the very least a reminder that PSBs remain a lively genre of their own creation. [May 2016, p.78]
    All this publication's reviews
  16. Slant Magazine
    Mar 24, 2016
    70
    Super's best songs cleverly subvert the expectations set up by the joyous music.
  17. Pitchfork
    Apr 4, 2016
    69
    Super elaborates and intensifies Electric’s approach: Louder, brighter, more. It doesn’t have the sustained arc of that album, but Price specializes in renovating house and disco, modernizing with care, and his small details still beguile.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 51
  3. Negative: 5 out of 51
  1. LeeBear67
    Apr 1, 2016
    9
    Petheads hoping for many heart wrenching ballads about love and loss are playing the wrong album, this is mostly all UP and BOUNCING! OnlyPetheads hoping for many heart wrenching ballads about love and loss are playing the wrong album, this is mostly all UP and BOUNCING! Only "Sad Robot World" and "The Dictater Decides" are slower tracks the rest are aimed at the dance floor. This is not a particularly lyrically dense album at all compared to many of their releases but it is completely infectious dance music. I listened to it as background music the first couple of times to get used to the tunes then played it listening more carefully to the vocals once the tunes were under my skin, perhaps a good way to get used to such a dance music based album. Favorite track right now is "Happiness".… Full Review »
  2. SubXer0X
    Apr 1, 2016
    6
    I've been a PSB fan since I was 9 years old and own all their albums. My first introduction to PSB was through West End Girls of course, butI've been a PSB fan since I was 9 years old and own all their albums. My first introduction to PSB was through West End Girls of course, but I fell in love with 'Actually' due to the melodic yet interesting song subjects. Don't get me wrong, the production on this album is slick and wonderful, but that's all it is. Gone are the songs you'd remember. There are some nice electronic, modern synths at work here but it's missing the songs that made PSB more than just 'club bangers'. Perhaps the standout tracks are 'The Dictator Decides' which might remind you a bit of "This Must Be the Place..." from Behaviour, "Inner Sanctum" which is a nice idea, but sounds like an excerpt rather than a full song, and 'The Pop Kids' which is a semi-autobiographical fictional piece that harkens back to the sounds of "It's Alright". A solid 6 for great production work, but you'd expect nothing less from PSB and their collaborators.… Full Review »
  3. antpaca
    Apr 8, 2016
    5
    Sheer energy can't inflate flat ideas. The loftier songs (The Dictator Decides, Sad Robot World, Twenty-Something) are bogged down by lyricalSheer energy can't inflate flat ideas. The loftier songs (The Dictator Decides, Sad Robot World, Twenty-Something) are bogged down by lyrical oversimplifications, which is sad to see, considering the Pet Shop Boy's track record with smart, cerebral lyrics. The best songs are the ones that toss aside nuance and go for straight pop (Say it to Me, Burn, Groovy). Those songs succeed on their own terms, but lack that wry intellect that makes PSB really special. More "electric" than Electric, maybe, but definitely not better. Electric was a triumph, this feels more like an Electric b-side and remix disc.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »