The Pet Shop Boys are keeping dance hall days alive with their new album, Hotspot. Listening to the opening track, “Will O’ the Wisp” feels like throwing on a glitter bolero and 5-inch platforms and strutting into the open arms of a club filled with your fabulous friends.

Track number two, “You Are the One” is a warm embrace of a ballad. It may be early in the evening but you’ve got to slow dance to this one. Track number three, “Happy People Living in a Sad World” is pure camp but a lot of fun. Song number four, “Dreamland” is a solid b-side single.

Hotspot starts out strong and hopeful but then it just keeps going. The beginning indicates that track after track will be bottle service free pours of lush 80s glam but then there’s nothing remarkable as the songs roll on. “Hoping for a Miracle” and “I Don’t Wanna” are repetitive and lyrically immature. “Monkey Business” is silly fun. 

Then there’s the surprising, “Only the Dark.” This is a poetic song. “Although the dark is leaving its mark it’s not gonna last — Don’t be scared for only the dark can show you the stars.”

While there are some very shiny gems, this album would have faired better as an EP of five or six songs. If you miss the 80s, it’s still worth giving a spin. It won’t enlighten you but there’s nothing wrong with some guilty pleasure music to hype you up.

I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Sabrina Stone