Erasure's eponymously titled album was supposed to be a grand artistic statement with finely crafted compositions presented in an extended form. Vince Clarke continued to limit himself to analogue synthesizers and Gareth Jones and Thomas Fehlmann were roped in to produce. Francois Kevorkian seemed an odd choice to mix given the tranquil mid-tempo character of the songs, but his pedigree is unquestionable.
The first I heard of this album was the lead single "Stay With Me". Despite receiving a promotional postcard through the post, I wasn't tempted to buy it. I think I acquired the second single "Fingers & Thumbs" simply because both CD singles were 99p each. I would have felt a little short-changed if I had paid much more.
The trouble with this album is that its experimental nature means it often becomes self indulgent. This might not be a problem if the music was entertaining but by and large, it just sounds a mess. There's a real lack of direction and the music is almost schizophrenic. Take the introduction "Guess I'm Into Feeling" which starts with a long fade and washes of synth textures before it abruptly explodes into a weird disco pastiche. The second track "Rescue Me" rolls along for four minutes but seems to have a three minute long coda bolted onto the end. Not only does this ending make the song overly long but it sounds forced and uninspiring. "Sono Luminous" is a more promising composition and, of all the tracks here, it is the only one that lends itself to the extended format.
As I am not a big fan of this album, it is ironic that it contains my favourite song by the band: "Rock Me Gently". Yet, as fantastic as this song is, it's 'experimental' coda with Andy shrieking becomes a bit wearing after ten minutes. I tend to stick to the single mix.
The rest of the album carries on in a similar vein but with increasingly mediocre songs. This record is definitely a case of the concept getting in the way of the execution. The band can't have been surprised by the poor sales, but its failure as an artistic statement must have been disappointing. 2.5/5
