Following the perceived falling-off point of Bilingual, the Pet Shop Boys approached Nightlife with a slight sense of something to prove in a changing pop field, with initial work on their eventual Closer to Heaven musical leading first to this album. There’s a strong focused musical and lyrical slyness in songs like “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More” and the peppy “New York City Boy,” while the none-more-them song title “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk” hides one of their most sweetly melancholy singles ever.

– Ned Raggett