Erasure is one of those bands that are consistent with their music. When you listen to an Erasure CD you are guaranteed to have their signature bleeps and bloops, care of Vince Clark and vocals that will wow you by Andy Bell. Tomorrow's World is no exception. The only problem with consistency is that things can start getting boring. Luckily, that doesn't happen here. Erasure only suffers when they deviate from their pop music formula ie their self titled album from 1995, where they went for longer more ambient sounding tunes.Tomorrow's World is Erasure doing what they do best fun synth-pop that you want to sing and dance to. The first single is "When I Start To (Break It All Down)." This is Andy doing a breakup song, something he always does so well. He plays the part of the wronged lover perfectly every time. Another breakup track is "What Will I Say When You Are Gone?" This one is a little slower and more emotional than "When I Start To (Break It All Down)"
But if Andy does the breakup song so well, what of the shiny happy pop love song? Well when it comes to a song like "Be With You" which opens Tomorrow's World, what you get is nothing short of perfection. The melody is catchy and bouncy and Andy's vocal soars. This is one of those songs that lifts your mood with just one listen. "Fill Us With Fire," continues the happy mood. This song will leave you bouncing around.
They try to achieve that level of fun with "Then I Go Twisting," but even the fun beats can't save a song that is lyrically bland. Thankfully that's one of the only misfires on the album. "Whole Lotta Love Run Riot" is pure disco.
The band only deviates from their usual formula on "You've Got To Save Me Right Now." The band take their signature synthpop and blend it with some gospel vocals. Thanks to Andy Bell's great vocal range, this song really shines. It is one of album's highlights.
"Just When I Thought It Was Ending" is the token ballad. It isn't the usual hearts and flowers ballad, with stronger beats that what one would expect from the duo.
The album closes with the title track, which also happens to be an instrumental piece. It is a rather ho hum way to end the album. Tomorrow's World is a mostly solid release. There are more hits than misses here, which makes you wonder why the instrumental was included as it doesn't enhance the album in any way.
Tomorrow's World is proof that Erasure are still rolling with the punches. If you have a yen for synth-pop music, you can't go wrong here.
Genre: Synth Pop
Sounds Like: Depeche Mode
Label: Mute
Buy: Amazon
Released: 2011
Rating: 8/10
Listen: When I Start To (Break It All Down)
