GrooveOut by Chris Sill

•• Release — Pet Shop Boys

Fifteen years of providing a fundamental page in the soundtrack to modern gay life is no easy task. They’ve held our musical attention and kept our toes tapping through disco, rave, pop, and even theater. So what else is there for the Pet Shop Boys to do? Rock?

Release, the latest offering from the gay British duo, is a painful reminder that some genres are better left alone.

Release begins favorably with the charming "Home and Dry" (is that a vocoder on Neil Tennant’s voice?), followed by the anthem-ish "I Get Along." After this, things quickly plummet into complete dribble bottoming out with the ridiculously late "E-mail."

Even with the disappointing presence of Johnny Marr on guitar, the boys can’t quite convince us in their new role as pop rockers. However, there are a few bright points near the end: "Love Is a Catastrophe" glides through the rocky terrain of love pains with eerily sad, almost Brian Eno-esque guitar work, paired with Tennant’s most inspired lyrics to date. And Tennant again proves himself a master of twisted pop poetry when he portrays himself as a fan who has a gay affair with rapper Eminem on "The Night I Fell in Love."

Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good, and the boys won’t be winning over any pop rock fans with Release.

•• 18 — Moby (V2 Music)

In today’s "reality-based" pop culture where stars are so completely packaged that there seems little if nothing real about them, it’s not only refreshing, but downright mind-boggling that someone like Moby stands out. One hardly needs to be reminded that his last CD, 1999’s Play, holds the unique distinction of having all its tracks licensed for use in commercials, sitcoms, or soundtracks. It was inescapable. The irony, and inspiration, of that feat lies in the fact that Moby (Richard Melville Hall) doesn’t fit into any of the preconceived molds that major record companies continually shove down our throats. Electronic, rock, ambient, techno, blues. All are apt labels to attach to the music he writes, produces, and records by himself.

With the May 14 release of 18, the shimmering follow-up CD to Play, Moby enters a new phase in his career. Although he may doubt his celebrity status, the mainstream crossover success of Play has made Moby’s star shine a little brighter, and with that luminous quality comes the high hopes of repeated success. In other words, all eyes and ears will be watching and listening to 18. What they can expect to hear are sounds akin to Play–sincere, thought-provoking, pop-influenced songs–but the landscape has changed as Moby dabbles his sonic paintbrush in ’80s electro-pop. But don’t think of 18 as an ’80s album, for Moby’s cunning electronic wizardry stretches well beyond that. His formula for manipulating and applying sampled sounds into something new is like no other. The song "Sleep Alone" demonstrates this convincingly.

Whether 18 takes the same unrivaled path as Play remains to be seen. Its quivering radiance will unquestionably brighten Moby’s star status while shedding new light in the dull and boring world of pop music. But star status is something Moby believes we all carry as evidenced by the CD’s first single, "We’re All Made of Stars."

•• Earthbound — Paul Schwartz Project (RCA Victor)

Known for his work on the Aria albums, composer Paul Schwartz’s Earthbound represents his first entirely self-composed recording, blending ambient dance grooves and lush orchestral movements. Earthbound celebrates the imagery of the night. In stores May 21.