Nightlife is a loose concept album -- more of a song cycle, really -- about nightlife (naturally), a collection of moods and themes, from love to loneliness. In that sense, it's not that different from most
Pet Shop Boys albums, and, musically, the album is very much of a piece with
Very and
Bilingual, which is to say that it relies more on craft than on innovation. Depending on your point of view, this may not be such a bad thing, since
Pet Shop Boys specialize in subtle craft and masterful understatement. Such skills serve them well when they're essentially following familiar musical territory, which they are on
Nightlife. At its core, the record is very much like
Very -- a clever, skillful updating of classic disco, highlighted by small contemporary dance flourishes, and infused with a true sense of wit, sophistication, and intelligence.
Pet Shop Boys do this music better than anyone else ever has, and they're at the top of their form here, but it's hard to shake the initial impression that they've done this before. Each individual song works beautifully, from the wistfully dejected "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More" to the exhilarating
Village People homage "New York City Boy," but as a whole,
Nightlife seems less than the sum of its parts. Repeated listens reveal the songs' charms, yet
Nightlife coasts on its craft a bit too much, which makes it feel like one of their second-tier albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine