Erasure
Hits! The Very Best Of (Disc 1)

THE REVIEW

From the early experiments with sampled sounds to the first danceable tunes, from the quest for ambient atmospheric music to synthesized rock, my recent passion for electronic music has led me to discover many bands, some of which appeared to me as sacred revelations.

Erasure, for example, enlightened, struck, and fascinated me in a way no band had done in quite some time. Certainly among the top global representatives of the Synthpop genre, the English band Erasure was formed in '85, consisting of only 2 members: Vince Clarke, an ex-Depeche Mode member, and Alison Moyet. In the second half of the '80s, Erasure was considered by many as the best electronic music group, topping all the charts and rivaling the Pet Shop Boys. Their main characteristic is the strong typically pop feel of their songs, with light dance undertones, almost ecclesiastical choruses, and very profound lyrics often addressing the defense of human civil rights. Erasure, therefore, represents techno-pop, sometimes leaning more towards Dance, other times more towards Ambient, always on the path to the evolution of sound, becoming more fluid, refined, and polished year after year.

Erasure's music is distinctive because, besides being pleasant, melodic, and relaxing to listen to, it also emerged in the '80s as a non-conformist trend, and today it remains somewhat niche, known by numerous fans (for a moment in time, they sold more than Madonna) who are eager to explore the broad musical boundaries, yet still unknown to most. Importantly, Erasure was and still is, more than musicians, sound scientists, explorers of musical boundaries, and their music, the one on the records, is the result of electronic and digital research on frequencies and technical musical innovations. Thus, listening to the entire discography of this English duo is a journey through different genres, always electronic but with diverse auditory impacts. I believe that every chapter of any saga is significant, and undervaluing even a single piece would diminish the entire work. Therefore, to avoid recommending a specific album, I think anyone wanting to know the band should get "Hits!", the "The Very Best Of", a double CD with a total of 38 songs that summarize this journey of sonic spirituality.

An Erasure song I’ve never been able to resist has always been "Take a Chance on Me", with its almost dance rhythm, yet very well crafted, and featuring a break very similar to a ragga ballad. From the classic, magnificent, famous, and immortal "Oh l'amour", with its sweet rhythmic atmosphere, to more recent pieces like the magnificent "Solsbury Hill", with a cosmic and spatial atmosphere and an array of sounds refined to the last decibel, rhythms built on the basis of absolute perfection. "Freedom" is also very charming, with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar and especially an excellent choir, and various effects of vocoder and vocal distortion. Other tracks are less danceable and much sweeter and atmospheric, like the stunning "Stay With Me" or the very relaxing "In My Arms". Others hail from their peak success period, like "A Little Respect" or "Chains of Love", which, in all the splendor of Clarke's voice, carry that fantastic '80s vibe. Others like "Stop" and "Victim Of Love" (one of my favorites) have a rhythm that makes you dream, but the absolute masterpiece, in my opinion, is "Always", slightly mottled, deep, and sad.

The second CD features the best hits digitally covered, with little tricks here and there that make everything much more danceable. In short, Erasure is a temple where all electronic enthusiasts have found themselves in worship, they are a ticket for a journey towards a fluid rush of sonic emotions, they are what Depeche Mode and Yazoo have not conveyed. They are a band absolutely worth knowing for a dignified and musical life.