Out Now
8.5 / 10
Electro pop duo release orchestral interpretation of last
album.
Times are busy for Erasure it would seem. On the ascendancy in the public eye recently
celebrating thirty years as an active pop act, increasing media coverage and a
seemingly constant live programme sees them entertaining fans old and new.
Their last album World Be Gone was a remarkable album in
many ways seeing them catapulted into our lives once more, songs that are
potential career bests and ‘that’ formula that Vince Clarke and Andy Bell seem
to instinctively possess. Described as a
‘bright idea’ by Clarke, World Beyond sees those ten tracks given an orchestral
and near classical overhaul for the first time since English composer Andrew
Poppy rearranged tracks for 1987s The Two Ring Circus.
With Clarke taking a backseat Bell performs with Echo
Collective, a Brussels based collective of post-classical musicians who also
produce and arrange the album. A six
piece collective previously known for their work with the late Johann
Johannsson, Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O’Halloran, take World Be Gone by the
scruff of the neck and beautifully re-arrange each track. It’s captivating, hearing out and out pop songs
turned into orchestral interpretations as though they were meant to be that
way.
The opener from World Be Gone, the poppy single Love You To
The Sky is switched with Oh What A World which becomes the new lead track, its
dark and foreboding and begins that album with more than a little drama (sorry)
as the lyrical content becomes more evident in its take on current world events
and paths.
Perhaps Clarke’s recent launch of the Very Records label with
new acts like Alka and Reed And Caroline or, collaborations with the likes of
Jean-Michel Jarred and Equinox have developed a yearning to spread his wings. Maybe Bell’s incredible performances as Saint
Torsten the polysexual immortal in which his voice exceled beyond all
expectation has provoked this new collection.
Either way the pairing with the Echo Collective is inspired.
A Bitter Parting is powerful and Still It’s Not Over confirms
that Bell is a vocalist who like a good wine, is improving with age and
confirming he is indeed a much underrated singer. Love You To The Sky sits perfectly into its
new tracklisting positon as the album draws to an all too quick close and final
track, Just A Little Love retains its stature as one of the albums most impressive
tracks.
World Beyond is a calculated success, not just because it
contains excellent musicianship and performances but also because the songwriting
of Clark and Bell continues to impress with sheer class shining through. A true diamond.
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