After this, their Abba tribute single and the greatest hits collection, everything seems to get a little less intense and memorable for some reason, which is a pity seeing as everything before that was intense and memorable and then some. But at least they had this going for them.
Vince Clarke helped invent synth-pop and therefore the eighties, a fact which deserves the highest, most instinctual praise (as opposed to ponderous "Yes, this is praiseworthy" hash, which does nothing to explain the great rush you get singing a song like "Situation" or "A Little Respect" at the top of your lungs). Andy Bell, meanwhile, is Andy Bell, Blondie addict, gay icon for some but clearly not for all, but there we are, the fact remains he can outsing a lot of the helium-based MOR annoyances like Mariah that flourished in recent years, which considering we're talking about a pale white English guy shows that, indeed, we are living in a boundaryless universe. More or less.
And the opening track, the title one, still makes me smile as being about the only environmental anthem worth listening to in and of itself, all burbling synths, of course, sequencer heaven, and, of course, a chorus (and a choir) of note. I'll always love the line about the fishes in the sea going to sleep myself. And there's a lot of call and response going on here throughout the album, Bell with himself, so maybe this is the What's Going On of the nineties. Well, except I listen to this one more instead of lighting candles to it and exchanging venerations with the likes of Alan McGee and Paul Weller, say. You get the drift.
The singles mostly work -- "Breath of Life" pulses along to little effect, but "Love to Hate You" is bitchy and geared for stadiums, a great combination, while "Am I Right?" actually makes soul-searching in the pouring rain sound right, in its own nice little way (and with a good middle verse, actually). But Erasure always had great songs beyond that, stubborn claims to the contrary aside, which is why I lurve the way "Joan" works in a hip-hop beat in a way that still sounds like Erasure, somehow. And how "Home" ends it all with such a good way about the build, the sounds and synths all crashing together from the simplest of starts. And, of course, Bell doing what he does best, and doing it well.
Chorus, then, a good Erasure album. Much better than what most bands could ever do.