Whilst some aspects of it as a decade are now hand gnawingly embarrassing and deserve to be forgotten, the nineteen eighties was a golden era for British pop, one that is still frequently reprised.
Always..was originally released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Erasure’s first album Wonderland in 2015, a landmark for Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s partnership that celebrated a history in which they’d sold more than 25 million albums worlwide.
Now made available on vinyl and expanded to include material produced since, it’s both a testament to the pair’s durability – their nineteenth studio album Day-Glo (Based on a True Story) was released in 2022 – and a mastery of pop as a concept, from the breakthrough hit Sometimes, the moribund Ship of Fools and the rave-mining Chorus.
Like the Pet Shop Boys, the eighties’ Smash Hits disposability created an impression that Erasure were never intended to escape the era in which they came about, but Always…is the hard evidence of success from a hit factory with a permanent heart and soul.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 