Now into their fifth decade together, electro synth-pop duo Erasure have seen it all in their glittering career. As one of the pioneering acts of the UK electronica scene, they crossed over into enormous commercial success and became one of the biggest bands of the 1980s and 1990s. Incredibly, between 1986 and 2007, they achieved 24 consecutive Top 40 hits in the UK, and to date, they’ve sold over 25 million records.

Plenty of acts would have walked away by now, hung up the keyboards and the mics, fully content with all they’ve achieved. Remarkably though, Erasure show no sign of slowing down. The Neon, the intrepid pair’s eighteenth studio album and their sixth in less than ten years, is an album that very much refuses to let that rich past go. And who can blame them.

After Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling), a solid enough opening, comes Nerves Of Steel, and straight away you realise there’s plenty of magic left in Erasure yet. It’s a brooding, claustrophobic monster of a track, that combines a glorious synth melody with the best of Andy Bell’s vocals, as he sings: “You're the object who owns my affection / Nerves of steel turn in my direction / My desire and my intention, yeah”, the final word of which soars away into the night.

Fallen Angel is a joyous Wurlitzer of a track, while Shot A Satellite is the kind of floor-filling club anthem they specialised in at their peak, and Diamond Lies is an infectious disco number that rips along. New Horizons provides some much-needed introspection, a powerful balled that sees Bell sing: “You're my love, you're my saviour / You're my rock in the storm / Like the sea up on the shore the tides are changing / And the struggle we've been through comes to an end”.

Their previous album, 2018’s World Beyond, took an unusual turn, a strangely low key album that wasn’t particularly well-received. But with The Neon Erasure are back to what they do best, mixing synth-propelled highs and lows for those that still need them. I hope they never stop.

Watch the official video for Nerves Of Steel here.

The Neon tracklist:

1. Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling)

2. Nerves Of Steel

3. Fallen Angel

4. No Point In Tripping

5. Shot A Satellite

6. Tower Of Love

7. Diamond Lies

8. New Horizons

9. Careful What I Try To Do

10. Kid You’re Not Alone

 pop       electro 

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.