CD Reviews

Erasure

Lights at the End of the World | Mute

By JIM SULLIVAN | June 11, 2007

3.0 Stars

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

Related: Panoramic pop, Boys meet girls, Youth or consequences, More

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