Meh.

I've been a fan of the Pet Shop Boys since Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) and the Please album first hit the airwaves back in 1986. In fact, that CD provided the soundtrack of my life when I first moved to San Francisco and will always hold a special place in my heart because of it. (Two Divided by Zero will forever be tied to a memory of driving over the Bay Bridge on a foggy August morning for a job interview in Oakland.) Over the years, I've always eagerly looked forward to each new release, and when Yes popped on the scene a few years ago I was ecstatic. I thought it was one of their best albums ever.

So you can imagine the anticipation I had for Elysium. Could they top—or at least equal—the genius of Yes?

Sadly, no. Not even close.

I believe "underwhelming" is a good description of how I feel about Elysium, their latest release. The tempo and lyrics seem to reflect a pair of artists who are realizing that not only are they not 25 and the life of the party any more, but also that they've passed through middle age and now find themselves wondering what they've actually accomplished. I've listened to the album several times, and—with the exception of Memory of the Future, which sort of reminds me of Ben and I—I just can't get into it. It's all downtempo, agonizingly navel-contemplating, and ultimately (which is a horrible thing to tell an artist) forgettable.

WHERE are the upbeat dance tunes laced with biting social commentary? Where is this album's Sodom and Gomorrah Show or even I'm With Stupid?

But after a string of incredible hits that span the last twenty six years, I'll grant that even the Pet Shop Boys are allowed a stinker now and then…