Erasure

Lights at the End of the World | Mute
By JIM SULLIVAN  |  June 11, 2007
3.0 3.0 Stars
erasure_inside
Erasure singer Vince Clarke and synthist/lyricist Andy Bell have put Maine on the musical map by recording “Light at the End of the World” at Clarke’s Falmouth home/studio. Heck, they could have made it on Mars. Twenty-one years into their career as the world’s reigning dance-pop electronic duo (20 million albums sold), Erasure keep punching the right pleasure buttons. They like to consider themselves bizarre and eccentric — the UK version of Sparks, Bell has said — but most of Erasure’s musical disturbance or conflict is subtext. You can almost see the champagne bubbles in their music — that is, when the warm Jacuzzi-like jet blasts don’t overwhelm. Whatever ripples of subversion you might hear, there’s always a surging synth line or a resplendent crescendo lurking just ahead. Erasure remain A-level, mid-tempo melody makers, crafters of classic romantic pop songs with electronica serving as the template. There’s something wonderfully old-fashioned (’80s) about what these guys concoct. It’s a most pleasant time warp, and one that young fans of, say, the Killers should discover and drool over.

Erasure | True Colors Tour | Bank of America Pavilion | June 16 | 617.931.2000

  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY JIM SULLIVAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   INTERVIEW: CARL HIAASEN  |  July 22, 2010
    Novelist Carl Hiaasen likes to create scenarios where very bad and tremendously satisfying things happen to despicable people: crooked politicians, real-estate scammers, environment despoilers, greedy bastards of all stripes.
  •   AFTER IMAGES  |  May 28, 2010
    Karen Finley won’t be naked, or covered in chocolate. Candied yams will not be involved. If there are neighborhood morality-watch squads in Salem, they’ll have the night off.
  •   INTERVIEW: SARAH SILVERMAN  |  April 23, 2010
    Recently, “Sarah” — the character played by Sarah Silverman on Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program — was upset because in today’s world it just wasn’t safe anymore for children to get into strangers’ vans.
  •   TATTOO YOU  |  April 06, 2010
    Dr. Lakra is no more a real doctor than is Dr. Dre or Dr. Demento. The 38-year-old Mexican tattoo artist’s real name is Jerónimo López Ramírez. As for “lakra,” it means “delinquent.” Or so I thought.
  •   INTERVIEW: DAMON WAYANS  |  February 16, 2010
    "Right now, my intent is not to offend. I just want to laugh. I want to suspend reality."

 See all articles by: JIM SULLIVAN