Pet Shop Boys

The Most Incredible Thing EMI***

Pop's new rule of thumb: when you've exhausted all other possibilities, turn to the classical world. Taking their cue, perhaps from the opera-penning Rufus Wainwright, Messrs Tennant and Lowe have written a ballet composition in collaboration with Sadler's Wells dance theatre, based around the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of the same name. There are numerous formal classical interludes, but it's the iconic duo's own distinctive disco/ electropop sound that's branded most heavily on this score. Competitionand Riskmarry both styles in dramatic fashion, bursting into life at unexpected turns before reverting to tradition. The Clocksequence is vibrant and disquieting, while The Destructionblends doom- laden disco with overblown theatrics. It's off-putting to hear such distinct worlds colliding, but also startling, oddly compelling, and undeniably ambitious. See petshopboys.co.uk

Download tracks: Competition, The Clock, The Destruction