Erasure - World Be Gone

Erasure
World Be Gone
2017
Spotify

Erasure might not be a name we know all that well in the United States, but in Britain Vince Clarke and Andy Bell are known as two of the more dynamic voices in pop. It seems like politics has creeped into music in a big way across the board, but to varying degrees country to country. For Erasure this means watching the EU seemingly fall apart in front of them, and a world constantly on edge. Instead of a time to stand up and shout however this new record feels like a synthy soundtrack to dystopia. It is not like Erasure have us powering through the darkest of night, instead they feel more resigned to the world around them letting it really color their music. "Still It's Not Over" tries to lead on this inspiring journey but the end feels like such a bummer that it is hard to stay intrigued. There is also very little in terms of dancey tracks on this record. Yet Erasure have been doing dance music at such a high level since 1985, being affected by a world on it's head makes a lot of sense. Erasure want the world to hold on to love, as they say many many time throughout the record, but when even they can't wrap their heads around what is happening, how are we supposed to? You need some kind of release from the dourness of it all and Erasure just don't give it to you. It is an interesting choice but one that does not really benefit the album.

The one thing you won't find here however is Erasure holding on to anything from the past. While they could try and relive some of their music's more pop glory days they do have something to say on this album, regardless whether it really connects or not. Andy Bell's vocal however is a real standout, especially on "Oh What a World". His delivery is ripped straight from the 80s, but modern in a way that makes it sound great. The only problem is the song is so long and overwrought that the great vocal gets lost. World Be Gone is an album of this moment, but it doesn't feel built to last. These are observations about right now, not about the human condition as a whole and because they are really going for it, "Just A Little Love" is perfectly nice, but I mean we get it a little love is going to save us all. While World Be Gone doesn't really tarnish a career that has 17 records it does not do much to move it forward either. This record may be just a sign of weird times, weird times that we all hope will end very very soon.

6.0 out of 10