Mellifluous: sweet-sounding, sweet-toned, honeyed. Erasure singer Andy Bell’s voice has always been honeyed and sweet, and the duo’s new release, ‘World Be Gone’, shows that he’s lost nothing of the strength and dulcet tones he’s known for.
‘World Be Gone’ is Erasure’s seventeenth studio album, and their first since 2014’s ‘The Violet Flame’. Comprising ten songs featuring as always the perfect keyboards of Vince Clarke, the pair released lead single, ‘Love You To The Sky’ in March this year, with the world premiere on BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evan’s breakfast programme. ‘Love You To The Sky’ is possibly the most radio-ready of all the tracks: its up-tempo rhythm and 80s vibe the bridge between the Erasure of old and the band as they are now.
‘Be Careful What You Wish For!’ starts out gently and delicately, enticing the listener before launching into the much heavier chorus, with its accompanying strong synths.
Title track, ‘World Be Gone’, is beautiful and sweet: mellifluous.
All songs have been co-written by Bell and Clarke, with funding for the album raised through Pledgemusic. Fans will appreciate the stripped back simplicity of tracks such as ‘Take Me Out Of Myself’, which features an ethereal backing vocal that entices the listener, darting in and out of the lead vocals, pulling with it a silken strand of sound. This track is in stark contrast to the electronic dripping of ‘Sweet Summer Loving’, which is as much a showcase of Clarke’s talents as of Bell’s vocals.
‘Oh What A World’ takes us full circle back to classic Erasure, ensuring the listener that although it’s been thirty or so years, they’ve still got what it takes. Likewise, final song ‘Just A Little Love’ could easily have been released on any of their earlier albums – it’s mellow and sincere, and a fitting song to end the album – if we had just a little love, the world might be a better place. “Think about it baby”.
‘World Be Gone’, by Erasure, is out May 19 in the UK and on May 20 in North America, on Mute Records. Pre-order here. Erasure have also announced tour dates, with some headline gigs later this month, followed by a European tour supporting Robbie Williams. See our article about this for further details.
