I'll be honest: before tonight the thought of seeing The New Pornographers again filled me with trepidation. When you've spent a couple of years listening incessantly to a band, when you love each of their previous albums, and, particularly, when you've been slightly disappointed by a previous live outing, you don't want to risk your relationship with them. But fortune favours the brave, after all, and so here we are in Madrid's intimate El Sol club awaiting the moment of truth.

Seeing The New Pornographers live has always been a risky business. In Europe, they rarely play with a full complement as Dan Bejar, a.k.a Destroyer, and Neko Case are usually busy with other things. Namely their solo careers. Any band would miss musicians of such brilliance, of course, but on latest album Challengers it's head Pornographer Carl Newman who writes nine of the twelve songs, and keyboard player Kathyrn Calder - Newman's niece, fact fans - who sings an increasing amount of the vocals.

And so it is tonight. Shorn of Bejar and Case, it's a stripped-back sound and one that suits the new material perfectly. Much of Challengers is played, and where it's the upbeat rockers (set opener 'All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth', 'All The Old Showstoppers') that get the blood pumping on record, it's the slower, heart string tugging numbers that impress most this evening.

The delicate title track sees Newman and Calder exchanging cooed lines, and is greeted enthusiastically by the locals (especially the "oh-la, oh-la, oh-la" refrain). Later, the response is similarly, and unsurprisingly, warm for 'Sing Me Spanish Techno'. Amazingly, this is the first time the band have played in Madrid and, from the numerous, endearing attempts to sing the words back at them, it's clear they have fans here.

Newman's vocal performance starts off a little tentative, but as band and crowd get warmed up the adrenaline (and, possibly, cerveza) flows and a connection is made. The hour-plus set serves as a reminder of just how many brilliant pop songs the Pornographers possess, and the execution, where once it was dull and lifeless, is tonight infused with the effervescence their records suggest.

Another marked contrast from sets of old is the variety they now have in their repertoire, with Challengers' mid-tempo romantic balladry offering a soothing alternative to the high-octane guitar pop of the likes of 'Use It' and 'Jackie, Dressed In Cobras' from 2005's Twin Cinema. As an aside, they also include the opening tracks from their four LPs to date - all of which, before Challengers, are also the title track: 'Electric Version', 'Mass Romantic' and 'Twin Cinema', tonight played like it's a punk song.

An encore comes, and with it a genuine surprise. "We're going to try a rock 'n' roll classic" announces Newman, before busting out the riff from ELO's 'Don't Bring Me Down'. This ain't no comedy cover, though, instead it's a highly enjoyable start to the end. The finale comes with a turbo-charged run through 2002 single 'Letter To An Occupant' - the song that broke them in Europe. And after this excellent maiden performance - much to this writer's relief - Madrid will certainly be welcoming them back with open arms.