Pet Shop Boys – Christmas (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Single Review)

December 20, 2009 by Dennis Amith

An enjoyable Christmas EP from the Pet Shop Boys featuring a new version of their 1997 fan club song “It Doesn’t Often Snow at Christmas” and a cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and Madness song “My Girl”. A solid Holiday EP for Pet Shop Boys fans!

GROUP: Pet Shop Boys

DIGITAL ALBUM: Christmas EP

LABEL: Astralwerks – Caroline

DURATION: 22:34

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2009

It doesn’t often snow at Christmas (new version)
My Girl
All over the world (New Version)
Viva la vida/Domino dancing
My Girl (Our House Mix)

I admit that I was quite surprised to see a Pet Shop Boys Christmas EP out for the holidays and what an enjoyable EP it turned out to be.

“Christmas” kicks off with the song “It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas”, a new version of the 1997 song that was an exclusive for the group’s fan club. The latest version of the song features a collaboration with Marius de Vries. I enjoyed de Vries work with The Sugarcubes and most recently for the film “Easy Virtue”. Overall, an upbeat track but if anything, it’s the Pet Shop Boys lyrics that are quite meaningful and witty. An enjoyable Christmas track!

The second single “My Girl” is a cover of the Madness song. An upbeat synth-driven track that has that old school Pet Shop boys feel to it! A pretty fun track!

The third track “All over the world (new version)” is slightly different from the version featured on their album “Yes” (which was released back in April). This time the song features a Christmas theme and orchestral and brass accompaniment. The song was another collaboration with Marius de Vries.

The fourth track is quite interesting as it is a cover of Coldplay’s Vida la vida and also features a medley of their 1988 Pet Shop Boys hit “Domino Dancing”. A surprise cover that I wasn’t expecting but overall, it was a pretty cool cover track!

The final track features an “Our House Mix” of the Pet Shop Boys cover of the Madness song “My Girl”. An upbeat synth-driven track.

If you’re a fan of the group, the fact that we’re getting a Christmas EP not long after their release of their “Beautiful People” single is pretty cool and found the tracks to be fun and really enjoyable. Overall, this latest holiday EP release from the Pet Shop Boys is pretty solid. Definitely worth checking out!