The Pet Shop Boys finished their ninth album yesterday. The as-yet-untitled release is due in March. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe turned fourteen tracks over to engineer Michael Brauer, who finished mixing the tracks on November 3rd. Brauer handed the tracks back to the duo who pulled eleven for the final product.

Tennant and Lowe recruited former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to play on nine of the album tracks, with Jodie Linscott (Elton John, Billy Bragg) adding percussion. The record will be the Pet Shop Boys first album of new material since 1999's Nightlife. Earlier this year, the group's first five albums -- Please (1986), Actually (1987), Introspective (1988), Behavior (1990) and Very (1993) -- were reissued with bonus discs full rarities.

On November 20th, the Pet Shop Boys will release Montage, a DVD culled from their 1999-2000 tour.

ANDREW DANSBY
(November 6, 2001)