Nonetheless

Nonetheless is the fifteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 26 April 2024 through the band's own label x2 and Parlophone. It was produced by James Ford and mostly recorded at his East London studio. The band's first album for Parlophone since Elysium in 2012, its four-year gap with Hotspot (2020) marks their longest period between studio albums to date. It was preceded by the single "Loneliness", released alongside the album announcement.

Background
In a statement, Pet Shop Boys expressed that they wanted the album, both its dance tracks and ballads, "to be a celebration of the unique and diverse emotions that make us human", and called the 10 tracks "the strongest indicators of where we are today". They also expressed that producer James Ford had "dared" them to make their "sometimes quite complicated" demos more minimal in arrangement. Singer Neil Tennant also shared that "every track has an orchestra on it [...] with electronics".

Release
The album was released on 26 April 2024 in a variety of formats, including digitally, and physically on Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos, CD and multiple variants of coloured vinyl. The 2-CD and double white vinyl editions include a four-track EP titled Furthermore, featuring new recordings of "Heart", "Being Boring", "Always on My Mind" and "It's a Sin".

Commercial performance
Nonetheless debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 22,419 units its first week. It is the Pet Shop Boys highest-charting album since the compilation album Alternative reached number two in 1995.

Critical reception
Nonetheless received a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on ten critics' reviews, which the website categorised as "universal acclaim". Victoria Segal of Mojo wrote that the album "shows the duo pulling themselves up to full songwriting height, not just forging on, but flourishing". Mat Smith of Clash called Nonetheless "an utterly brilliant, dependably polished listen" and one of "the best moments" by the duo. Reviewing the album for NME, Gary Ryan described it as "peppered with richly-drawn characters, and esoteric cultural references" and a "lush, impressive collection that upholds their status as pop greats".

The Independent's Helen Brown felt that the album "maintains the band's strict quality control without any notable change in sonic style" but "proves that the Pets have still got the brains, still got the hooks". John Murphy of MusicOMH said that it "both sounds very like Pet Shop Boys while also managing to grow and evolve their sound" and observed "a huge streak of melancholy and reflection running through the record". Simon Heavisides of The Line of Best Fit concluded that Nonetheless "feels airy and welcoming" unlike the Pet Shop Boys' recent albums and "resonates emotionally in ways that befit elder statesmen who can look to the future while comfortably acknowledging the past".

Personnel
Pet Shop Boys
 * Chris Lowe – vocals, programming, keyboards, guitars
 * Neil Tennant – vocals, programming, keyboards, guitars

Additional musicians


 * Abimbola Amoake-Gyampah – additional vocals (tracks 1–4, 6–10)
 * Nile Bailey – vocals (track 1), additional vocals (2–4, 6–10)
 * Senab Adekunle – vocals (track 1), additional vocals (2–4, 6–10)
 * Daisy Vatalaro – cello (tracks 2–10)
 * Laura Moody – cello (tracks 2–10)
 * Sergio Serra – cello (tracks 2–10)
 * Val Welbanks – cello (tracks 2–10)
 * Adam Chatterton – flugelhorn, trumpet (tracks 2–10)
 * David Hopkin – flugelhorn, trumpet (tracks 2–10)
 * Graeme Flowers – flugelhorn, trumpet (tracks 2–10)
 * Serafina Steer – harp (tracks 2–10)
 * Alison De Souza – viola (tracks 2–10)
 * Zami Jalil – viola (tracks 2–10)
 * Morgan Goff – viola (tracks 2–4, 6–10), violin (5)
 * Amy May – viola (tracks 2, 4, 6–10), cello (3), violin (5)
 * Anna de Bruin – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Emma Smith – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Flora Curzon – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Hazel Correa – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Jennymay Logan – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Lucy Wilkins – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Patrick Dawkins – violin (tracks 2–10)
 * Ros Stephen – violin (tracks 2–9)
 * Ronald Long – violin (tracks 2–6, 8–10)
 * Preetha Narayanan – violin (tracks 2–5, 7–9)
 * Freya Goldmark – violin (tracks 2–4, 6–10)
 * Carys Evans – French horn (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Joseph Ryan – French horn (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Richard Ashton – French horn (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Samuel Freeman – bass trombone (2, 3, 5–10)
 * Chris Augustine – trombone (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Jon Stokes – trombone (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Barnaby Slade – tuba (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
 * Kotono Sato – violin (tracks 3–10)
 * Simmy Singh – violin (tracks 6, 10)

Technical
 * James Ford – production, mixing, engineering (all tracks); strings arrangement (tracks 1, 5); brass arrangement, additional programming, keyboards, guitars, percussion, drums
 * Matt Colton – mastering
 * Pete Gleadall - additional engineering
 * Jeremy Murphy – orchestral engineering (tracks 1, 5)
 * Luke Pickering – orchestral engineering (tracks 1, 5)
 * Ryan Jacob – brass arrangement (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, 9), orchestral engineering (2), arrangement (3), brass orchestration (7)
 * Richard Jones – strings arrangement (tracks 1, 5)
 * Laura Moody – technical engineering (track 2), orchestral engineering (3), strings arrangement (4, 6–10)
 * Jas Shaw – mixing assistance