Eternally Erasure: The Violet Flame

Andy Bell

I discovered Erasure while on vacation in London in 1988 and hit the dancefloor with a passion when "Chains of Love" erupted from the sound system. I puchased the cd, brought it back to the States before it was imported (which took longer back in the day), and played it to death.

Thus began my long love affair with the dance/electro-synthpop duo (Vince Clarke on keyboards, Andy Bell on vocals) known as Erasure. They have sold over 25 million albums worldwide and are most popular in the UK, Europe, South America and Australia; however, they consistently chart on the Billboard club list. I saw the in the late 1990s in New York at Hammerstein Ballroom. A memorable show and a packed house.

The Violet Flame is the title of Erasure's new release, florid and pulsating. Erasure carries on much as they always did, no new territory to explore with their 10 hiNRG tracks, and perhaps we're all just ducky with that. This is the duo's 16th studio album. Amazing!

The album had me hooked from the beginning with opening track, "Dead of Night," deliciously delivered at Halloween season. The second track, "Elevation" is the first single from this effort and it is definitely a catchy club number that should fare well this season. There are a couple of electro-ballads but mostly this is a dancefloor-oriented album. Erasure fans are unlikely to be disappointed.