Take some time out, put on the headphones, drop the needle on the record, or queue up the latest releases on your phone.
Here’s four recently released albums that we’ve been playing at OUTinPerth HQ including new discs from Troye Sivan, Pet Shop Boys, Haai and Andy Bell & Masal.
She’s the Best
Troye Sivan
★ ★ ★ ★
On his fourth album, Perth-raised singer Troye Sivan builds upon his previous work while introducing new elements. The opening title track was the first taste we received of the record, an unexpected, largely spoken-word composition that makes you wonder whether Sivan had been listening to a lot of The Streets before recording the album.
Things then dive into the electronic oeuvre of his previous release with “Canada Dry”, a song he has described as “an oogey-gooey, slinky back-arch pop about a handsome Canadian I want to suck dry”. The comment set the internet alight with speculation over which Canadian he might be referring to. It’s a great combination of dance beats and falsetto vocals, and you’ll find yourself singing along on the first listen.
“Party” has become an instant hit thanks to its sample of Madonna’s “Music”, chantable lyrics documenting all the places you can find yourself at a party, and sexual undertones conveyed through panting and heavy breathing. Layered vocals open “I Do This For You”, which sounds like an old-school house track from the late 1980s.
“Cowboy” brings a change of pace. It’s more laid-back and dreamy, while “Embarrassingly” is filled with strummed acoustic guitars and odes to falling in love. By the second chorus, a backbeat arrives that brings the song closer to a sound reminiscent of Electronic.
“Le Boy” is slow and sultry, continuing that sound with a funky bassline before bursting into an epic chorus. “Sex Star” sees Sivan singing about fake tans, personal trainers and the life of an actor. The song is one of several on the album where Sivan does not hold back when singing about gay sex.
“You’d come home, park that car, on the bed, I’ll be waiting, hard and impatient,” he sings.
We then dive into a moment of hyperpop with “Troye Meets World” before progressing to the album’s third single, “FF”, a romantic tune where the initials stand for “fucking forever”.
“Love So Big It Hurts” ramps up the romanticism with swelling strings and crisp piano. It’s epic.
The album’s final track features a guest appearance from Lily-Rose Depp, who sings in French. Her mother is French pop star Vanessa Paradis. The song continues the blend of guitars and beats, bringing the journey to a close.
A man from the future
Pet Shop Boys
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Is this the Pet Shop Boys’ sixteenth album, or an unusual side project along the way?
The prolific duo have frequently ventured into different creative territories throughout their career. Alongside their inescapable pop hits, they have created the musical Closer to Heaven, the cabaret show Musik, provided a new soundtrack for the silent film Battleship Potemkin, produced the ballet The Most Incredible Thing, and delivered songs for a theatrical adaptation of My Beautiful Laundrette. This latest work falls squarely into that tradition.
Drawing on Andrew Hodges’ biography of Alan Turing, the band has written eight tracks charting the famous mathematician’s life. Actor Juliet Stevenson reads passages from the book, intertwined with vocals from Neil Tennant. The songs possess considerable beauty, but the overall experience can feel unusual, almost like listening to an audiobook or a childhood storybook where Tinkerbell might suddenly appear to tell you it’s time to turn the page.
With such a substantial body of work behind them, Pet Shop Boys should be applauded for continuing to push boundaries. They have embraced an incredibly ambitious project rather than simply releasing another collection of pop songs. Even so, the combination of documentary narration and storytelling lyrics can feel a little strange.
Thankfully, the album also includes a second disc featuring instrumental versions of the tracks, and this is where the beauty truly shines through. The music moves between symphonic compositions and subtle electronica, perfectly reflecting Turing’s interests. After all, he is widely regarded as the grandfather of modern computer science.
Highlights include Natural Wonders Every Boy Should Know, He Dreamed of Machines, The Trial, Only in His Death and A Man From the Future.
Listen to the vocal versions, but put the instrumentals on repeat.
DIGITiSE
Haai
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Haai’s third album arrives 364 days after she released her previous record, HUMANiSE, an album she described as being for her queer and trans family and allies. Haai is the moniker of Teneil Throssell, who is now based in London but grew up in Karratha.
The album opens with RE-HUMANiSE, a collaboration with Kaiden Ford and ILĀ, featuring choral voices, spoken word and a steadily building dance beat. Printerlude – what a great title – incorporates office sounds, crunchy electronic textures, exploding beats and cut-and-paste vocal samples. A solid rhythm emerges before a voice instructs us to “please hang up and try again”.
Ignitition is where things really start to take off. A collaboration with Echonomist, the track moves through several distinct phases, including a brief vocal passage.
With each track, Haai takes listeners in different directions. You’re never quite sure what is coming next, and the album consistently keeps you on your toes.
The title track, a collaboration with Pat Alvarez, is filled with computer-like sounds, resembling Pac-Man at a rave. Yet it remains engrossing and continually calls listeners to the dance floor.
Technology keeps up the pace, while HUMANiSE Radio continues the journey. Thank U is euphoric, driven by breakneck beats, a repetitive vocal sample and swirling electronic textures.
The party continues with I Wanna Feel Like Someone, a collaboration with James Massiah, but things take a turn on Talking Walls, which features Skybreak and Cantoalegre. It begins with beats and looping snippets of sound before transforming halfway through into a dreamy ambient piece that gently brings listeners back down to earth.
Common Primitives
Andy Bell & Masal
★ ★ ★ ★
Andy Bell (not to be confused with the singer from Erasure) is best known as the vocalist and guitarist for English shoegaze band Ride, as well as being involved in Hurricane #1, Oasis and Beady Eye. Over the years, he has also delivered some outstanding solo albums and interesting collaborations.
This is his second album created alongside Essex-based duo Masal, comprising Özlem Şimşek (harp, vocals) and Alastair Johnson (synths, electronics, theremin). Together, they released Tidal Love Numbers in 2023, an ambient astral jazz collection. They now revisit their partnership with this new album, which traverses ambient, jazz and shoegaze before introducing a few heavier moments as it progresses.
This is the album to listen to when you want to escape from the world. Put on headphones, close your eyes and enjoy 43 minutes of sonic exploration.
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