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As a title, Bilingual is a double-edged sword. Disregard its sexual connotations and concentrate on its musical implications - Bilingual is a rich, diverse album that delves deeply into Latin rhythms. It's not a crass, simplistic fusion, where the polyphonic rhythms are simply grafted over synthesizers and a disco pulse. Instead, Bilingual is an enormously subtle album, with shifting rhythms and graceful, understated melodies. The music isn't the only thing subtle about the album - Neil Tennant's voice and lyrics are nuanced, suggesting more than they actually say. Furthermore, Bilingual consists of the most optimistic, happy set of songs the Pet Shop Boys have ever recorded…

Because they work in a field that isn't usually taken seriously, the Pet Shop Boys are often ignored in the rock world. But make no mistake - they are one of the most talented pop outfits working today, witty and melodic with a fine sense of flair. Very is one of their very best records, expertly weaving between the tongue-in-cheek humor of "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing," the quietly shocking "Can You Forgive Her?," and the bizarrely moving cover of the Village People's "Go West." Alternately happy and melancholy, Very is the Pet Shop Boys at their finest.

The Pet Shop Boys' collaboration with playwright Jonathan Harvey for Closer to Heaven was a smashing success among the West End in 2001 and a delight for fans around the world. The original cast recording matched the musical's campy appeal and made the Pet Shop Boys accessible again, but on a theatrical scope that's chased their sound for decades. Closer to Heaven is vibrant and brash with lush pop decadence, but also a brazen tale of sex and drugs. What's more inviting is how the overall soundscape is uninhibited. Billie Trix, who's played by Frances Barber, is a vocal vixen. "My Night" is an infectious disco romp, but she sets the mood with the angelically sassy "Friendly Fire." The Pet Shop Boys' own "Vampires" and "Closer to Heaven" from 1999's Nightlife are recast; however, the sheer duet between characters Vic and Shell on "In Denial" shimmies with Hi-NRG breakbeats for something cheeky, yet sensitive…

Behavior was a retreat from the deep dance textures of Introspective, as it picked up on the carefully constructed pop of Actually. In fact, Behavior functions as the Pet Shop Boys' bid for mainstream credibility, as much of the album relies more on popcraft than rhythmic variations. Although its a subtle maneuver, it would have been rather disastrous if the results weren't so captivating. Tennant takes this approach seriously, singing the lyrics instead of speaking them. That doesn't necessarily give the album added emotional baggage - all of the distance and detachment in the duo's music is not a hindrance, it's part of the concept - but it does result in an ambitious and breathtaking pop album, which manages to include everything from the spiteful "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" to the wistful "Being Boring."

"Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 12 August 1996 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The single was one of the most widely played records on UK radio in 1996, and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top five in Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Spain, and the top 10 in Denmark. In the United States, the single was released on 1 April 1997 by Atlantic Records as a double A-side with "To Step Aside".