Fundamental | ||||
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Studio album by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
Released | 22 May 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2005, Sarm West Studios, London | |||
Genre | Synthpop, electronica, disco, dark wave | |||
Length | 48:39 50:26 (Fundamentalism) |
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Label |
Parlophone Rhino (US) |
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Producer | Trevor Horn and Pet Shop Boys | |||
Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fundamental | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
BBC | (Favourable) |
CANOE | |
CBC | (Favourable) |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | |
Pitchfork Media | (6.5/10) |
Slant Magazine | |
Robert Christgau | |
Q | |
Yahoo! Music UK |
Fundamental is the ninth studio album by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released in May 2006 in the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, and Canada, and was released in late June 2006 in the United States. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number five on 28 May 2006 (see 2006 in British music). In the US the album peaked at #150 selling 7,500 copies in its first week. As of April 2009 it had sold 46,000 copies in the US and 66,000 copies in the UK. Fundamental earned two Grammy nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Dance Recording with "I'm with Stupid".
The album was produced by the Pet Shop Boys and Trevor Horn and it features eleven new Pet Shop Boys compositions, and "Numb", written by Diane Warren (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe originally planned to have "Numb" be one of two new tracks on PopArt, but opted instead for "Miracles" and "Flamboyant").
The liner notes show that the album is dedicated to two executed Iranian gay teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, who were hanged on 19 July 2005. Some reports have suggested the two may have been executed for engaging in homosexual behaviour, though the official Iranian report was that they were hanged for raping a 13-year-old boy. The album was very well received by critics, some considering it to be their best album since Very, but its sales failed to improve much on the underwhelming sales of their last two albums.
The album has been noted for being more political than any other of the duo's albums to date; even the title, in one sense, is a reference to religious fundamentalism — portrayed here in a light, critical manner, which singer Neil Tennant attributes to the relatively relaxed status of religious freedom in the United Kingdom.