West End Girls

So, it turns out DEVO weren't the only ones...

I just checked the Pet Shop Boys' news site (I tend to frequently -- I love them, and they've got a new record coming soon), and they posted a news item about West End Girls. Which I suppose would make sense that they'd be talking about one of their biggest songs and all.

Except it's not actually a song -- it's a new group out of Sweden. Two girls, who do exclusively Pet Shop Boys covers, in fact. I'm not sure if the Pets are involved at all, but still.

They've got a couple videos up -- their versions of "West End Girls" (I hope the album is self-titled -- that'd mean it'd be another entry in the all-too-short list of songs with the same names as both the band and album they're on. Like, say, "Big Country" by Big Country from Big Country) and "Domino Dancing". Of the two, I prefer "Domino Dancing", both in the video sense (the "West End Girls" video is a little dull and also kind of cheezy) and the arrangement (it's similar to the original, but a bit of an "updated" sound that works a bit better than it does with "West End Girls").

I'm not sure what to make of it -- I mean, they ARE great songs, and I'm amused by the way the two girls seem to have the Pets' moves and image down (the Neil is completely disassociated, the Chris is quiet and vaguely surly -- though, unlike the real Pets, both the Neil and the Chris have hats, instead of just the Chris). The accents are vaguely t.A.T.u. (as, I suppose, some wags would note, the possible connotations of two girls doing a bunch of Pet Shop Boys songs, but that's lame), although I don't think their voices are as strong as t.A.T.u.'s.

Still, though -- I'm not sure whether or not they've been together for a while, or if they're a manufactured group. Either way, though, it seems odd to do a manufactured cover band... though, of course, tell that to the A*Teens.

I have to say, though, I'll probably be picking this up -- after all, one of the cuts on there is "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk", which is one of my favorite Pet Shop Boys songs from the extremely underrated record Nightlife.