Pet Shop Boys @ Manchester Arena, 19 Feb

Not being superstitious, last year the Pet Shop Boys named their 13th studio album Super. After more than three decades making electro-pop hits, its title defied the unlucky number and became a perfectly concise review of its content.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe start the second night of their current UK tour unfashionably early with a brilliantly unsubtle entrance: two platforms with large, circular backdrops – which represent their current album’s artwork – spin around slowly to unveil the duo, wearing shimmering, metallic helmets which mix Daft Punk coolness with catwalk glamour.

The audience this evening spans generations. The 23-song set list is a well measured mix of new material and pre-millennium nostalgia. The rousing intro of Inner Sanctum sets the tone before Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) rewinds over 30 years and receives a strong reception. Recent single The Pop Kids is as strong as any of their earlier radio hits, and a testament to the band’s songwriting craft.

Throughout the show, the lighting projected both from and towards the stage is blinding – a raver’s dream but a nightmare for anyone who struggles with flashing images – and shortly after the catchy hook of New York City Boy and the calypso sway of Se A Vida É (That’s The Way Life Is) the sound takes a noticeably darker turn. The Dictator Decides still resonates in the current post-truth era and Inside a Dream is accompanied by striking Lynchian visuals which sees an image of Tennant’s head being infested with worms. Those more comfortable with sitting down during these gloomier moments are prised from their seats by the opening notes of West End Girls.

The tail end of the set sees the band at their undisputed best, with the vaudeville theatrics of The Sodom and Gomorrah Show followed by the cinematic tension of It’s a Sin. After only a brief moment to catch breath, they perform reworked versions of Left to My Own Devices – complete with string accompaniment – and the uplifting Go West.

The inevitable encore features the joyous sing-a-long of Domino Dancing before the rousing lament of You Were Always on My Mind ends the night in plenty of time to catch the last bus home. As Pet Shop Boys casually leave the stage, fans are left with a dictionary’s worth of superlatives much stronger than ‘super’.