"Say It to Me" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their thirteenth studio album, Super (2016). It was released on 16 September 2016 as the album's fourth single. The single debuted at number one on the UK Physical Singles chart,[2] and it reached number four on Billboard magazine's Dance Club Songs chart[3] and number five on the Hot Singles Sales chart[4] in the US. The song did not have a music video to accompany it, and was not included in the set list for their 2016 Super Tour.
"Say It to Me" was built around the bassline, which Chris Lowe compared to the sound of the American group Inner City. Lowe suggested that Neil Tennant come up with a repeated phrase, in the manner of Caribou, whose album Our Love (2014) they had enjoyed. Tennant described "Say It to Me" as "about a relationship with someone who doesn't say very much, someone with rather an elusive personality".[5]
Producer Stuart Price did additional work on the song and received a writing credit. The duo originally had not intended to include "Say It to Me" on Super but were persuaded to do so by Price.[5]
Release
"Say It to Me" was chosen as a single after it became a fan favourite from the album.[5] It was the third official single from Super, following the limited edition vinyl single of "Inner Sanctum".[6] "Say It to Me" was released on 16 September 2016 on CD single and in two digital bundles, including remixes by Real Lies, Tom Demac, Offer Nissim and Stuart Price, as well as two previously unreleased B-sides, "A Cloud in a Box" and "The Dead Can Dance".[7] A twelve-inch single was released on 23 September.[8] The cover art was a take on the album art for Super, the title centred in a circle, but designed to look like a dialogue bubble from a comic.
Critical reception
"Say It to Me" was mentioned in some album reviews of Super. Chris Snoddon of the music website XS Noize wrote: "Say It to Me follows, kicking in with a Balearic beat prior to emerging as another house styled track this time in the guise of Italian Euro-dance act Livin' Joy sporting similarities to their anthemic chorus accompaniment featured on 94's dance floor filler Dreamer".[1] A reviewer with ABC News in the US called the song "achingly tense (but tremendously catchy)" and described it as "a bonafide club hit waiting to happen while Tennant relentlessly pleads, "Tell me what you want from me!" It mixes a club-ready beat with an appealing pop hook. Honestly, this really deserves "Top 40" radio spins".[9]
In contrast, Jon O'Brien of Attitude called the track "slightly pedestrian",[10] and Kitty Empire of The Guardian characterized it as "coasting on overfamiliar autopilot".[11]
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