Chorus Erasure

The calmer inner meditations of Erasure behind them, the duo found themselves on Madonna's label in America and released the notably more upbeat Cowboy in 1997. The zeitgeist that the duo perfectly encapsulated in the late '80s had long been left behind, resulting in an album that sounds like it wants to keep the party going when all the guests had long gone home. While Erasure itself could drag here and there, it was still an honestly intriguing combination of new and old for the band, something the pleasant (but little more than that) Cowboy can't claim. At base, the problem is that while the basic Erasure knack of hummable hooks and fine singing remains unchanged, something seems missing - what made songs like "A Little Respect," "Stop!," and "Chorus" more than enjoyably catchy pop isn't there…

The calmer inner meditations of Erasure behind them, the duo found themselves on Madonna's label in America and released the notably more upbeat Cowboy in 1997. The zeitgeist that the duo perfectly encapsulated in the late '80s had long been left behind, resulting in an album that sounds like it wants to keep the party going when all the guests had long gone home. While Erasure itself could drag here and there, it was still an honestly intriguing combination of new and old for the band, something the pleasant (but little more than that) Cowboy can't claim. At base, the problem is that while the basic Erasure knack of hummable hooks and fine singing remains unchanged, something seems missing - what made songs like "A Little Respect," "Stop!," and "Chorus" more than enjoyably catchy pop isn't there…

Hits! the Videos is a DVD released by British synthpop duo Erasure as a companion to their greatest hits album Hits - the Very Best of Erasure. The double-disc set was released by Mute Records in 2003 and contained all music video clips from the band from their inception in 1985 up to 2003. Also included are several live and television performances, alternate videos and promotional documentaries and interviews with Vince Clarke and Andy Bell during the course of their career.

Having gotten familiar with each other and the public on Wonderland, Clarke and Bell aim their sights higher with its follow-up, a more distinct all-around album. Flood once again mans the production boards, helping bring out Clarke's greater number of individual touches and approaches to great effect. It can be the queasy synth whoosh on "Don't Dance," the chunky pseudo-guitar blasts on lead track and single "It Doesn't Have to Be," or the funhouse keyboards on the title song, a cautionary environmental tale, all testaments to Clarke's ever-strengthening pushback of synth-pop's presumed sound and cliches. Bell in turn is finding more to do with his voice, his breathy crooning more seductive and affecting, while his high-volume calls to musical arms generally avoid hyper-ear-piercing levels in favor of general appeal…

Erasure's self-produced 17th studio album, World Be Gone finds the duo honing in on a reflective synth pop befitting the wind-down portion of the dance. Affected by the political upheaval of the period leading up to its release in the spring of 2017, it features a few calls to action amid selections that are more generally about the need for love. The rousing opener, "Love You to the Sky," is a straight-up love song (and classic earworm) that begins with Krupa-like drums, establishing a thumping drumbeat that makes it the closest thing to a club track on the record. More sociopolitical in nature are "Lousy Sum of Nothing," a plea for political engagement and caring, and "Oh What a World"…

The duo's full debut was a sparkling collection of synth-pop tunes that made up in enthusiasm and immediate catchiness what it lacked in overall variety or any sense of artistic progression from Clarke's past. Though the production, one of Flood's earliest high-profile efforts, is detailed and often lush, anyone who had followed Clarke's career wouldn't be surprised by anything on Wonderland. Bell's vocals merely tie the connections to the past further, his at-times too-shrill-for-comfort falsetto inevitably echoing Yaz's Alison Moyet as well as one-time Assembly vocalist Feargal Sharkey. Allowing for all these inevitable reminders, though, still means Wonderland is well worth a listen. The key reason is the smash U.K. single "Oh l'Amour," which rapidly became a staple for American modern rock stations as well…

On a roll from its U.K. chart-topping success with the Abba-esque EP, Erasure celebrated with the baldly titled Pop! While scant in terms of general info, as a no-frills hit-for-hit collection Pop! lives up to its considerable brief. Taken out of context from the various albums, hearing one straight-up smash after enough becomes a pure delight. It's intriguing to hear how the pure synth-pop/soul fusions of the earliest years give way to a more fluid style, almost as if the notoriously hard-to-stay-satisfied Clarke, having finally found a perfect partner in Bell, found the time and inclination to explore other options…

The Violet Flame is the 16th studio album by Erasure. 3CD Deluxe Box includes a live disc and one of remixes. The three CDs present in an 8-page card package with a 16-page booklet.
Following a holiday album (2013's Snow Globe) with this "return to form" album means veteran duo Erasure are now on the cliched career revival path for aging pop stars, but maybe it's just by chance. Make that "likely," as The Violet Flame gets right down to dancey, inspired business on its opening "Dead of Night," a track that pumps with the beat of any given single off the duo's great 1989 album Wild!. Classic lyrics from Andy Bell speak to the morality play that club night can be ("Too many times you're forgiven/Now you cry like you're the victim") then the chorus is like a pair of bright red cha-cha heels (a joyful stuttering of "D-d-d-dead of night") that won't be ignored…

Having built up a strong fan base and back catalogue in just a couple of years, Erasure turned into a full-blown pop phenomenon thanks to The Innocents, winning the British equivalent of the Grammy for album of the year and spawning a big American hit single, "Chains of Love." Stephen Hague took over as producer from Flood, perhaps smoothing out some points for a more general mainstream appeal but otherwise letting the strengths of the songs speak for themselves. It begins with another single and stone-cold classic, "A Little Respect," with a charging beat/acoustic guitar/synth arrangement and a flat-out fantastic performance from Bell, especially on the ascending chorus. Guest performances help flesh out a number of songs quite well…