{"id":2319,"date":"2014-10-03T12:34:50","date_gmt":"2014-10-03T16:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=2319"},"modified":"2014-10-14T12:55:13","modified_gmt":"2014-10-14T16:55:13","slug":"erasure-the-violet-flame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/erasure-the-violet-flame\/","title":{"rendered":"Erasure <br>The Violet Flame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/erasure-the_violet_flame.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2320\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/erasure-the_violet_flame.jpg\" alt=\"Erasure, The Violet Flame\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/erasure-the_violet_flame.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/erasure-the_violet_flame-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>If thrash metal has its \u201cbig four\u201d (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer), then synth-pop needs to have a \u201cbig three.\u201d The members would be Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and of course, Erasure. While the first two may be the obvious choices, you can\u2019t front on Erasure. Like Megadeth and Metallica, Erasure shares a member with another of the bands (Vince Clarke was a founding member of Depeche Mode), but more importantly, all three bands happened to land at nearly the same time. Even if they didn\u2019t completely change the course of synth pop, then they are surely some of the most influential. And like the \u201cbig four,\u201d the bands have endured past their initial splash. For instance, while America may be stuck on Erasure as a 20th century group, the band has just released their 16th album, <i>The Violet Flame<\/i> (Mute Records).<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of its nearly 30-year career, Erasure has had an almost automation-like consistency. The formula is simple: Clarke on synths and music and Andy Bell handling the vocals. If you pick up an Erasure album, you know what you are going to get. (The maligned <i>Loveboat<\/i> excluded.) It may be more or less dance-oriented, but it will always have\u00a0 some fine pop moments. <i>The Violet Flame<\/i> is a slight return seeing as that their previous release was a Christmas record, last year\u2019s <i>Snow Globe<\/i>. This go-around they\u2019ve partnered with producer Richard X, who\u2019s worked with artists as varied as MIA and Kylie Minogue. While for some bands that would signal an attempt to reach out to \u201cthe kids,\u201d in this instance, it\u2019s simply a case of slight tweaks to the recipe. You can imagine someone in a backroom chomping on a cigar yelling out, \u201cDon\u2019t mess with the formula!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>The Violet Flame<\/i> is undeniably an Erasure record. While there are some now sounds, at the core is Clarke\u2019s bubbling, gurgling synth lines and Bell\u2019s soaring, dramatic tenor. While on Bell\u2019s solo record, <i>Non-Stop<\/i>, it seemed as if he had lost an octave or two in his vocal range, <i>The Violet Flame<\/i> finds him back at full power. And he puts his voice to good use, delivering tunes that are at turns wistful, triumphant, or saturated with longing. While some of Erasure\u2019s contemporaries take a more removed approach, Bell is never afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.<\/p>\n<p>With so many records under their collective belt and given the consistency of the group, it feels strange to be shocked at just how vital and flat out great <i>The Violet Flame<\/i> is. There are songs here that can easily be slotted alongside Erasure\u2019s best moments. Actually, strike that. The whole album could be put into that slot. While it may not be as giddy as some folks may like their Erasure, it\u2019s balanced by focused moments that show a sonic and lyrical maturity without being all elder statesmen about it. It\u2019s ironic that since plenty of bands and producers heavily mine the \u201880s, Erasure seems oddly contemporary. Regardless, <i>The Violet Flame<\/i> shows that great songs will always be in vogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If thrash metal has its \u201cbig four\u201d (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer), then synth-pop needs to have a \u201cbig three.\u201d The members would be Depeche Mode<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[34,233,618],"class_list":["post-2319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-erasure","tag-mute-records"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Erasure The Violet Flame - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/erasure-the-violet-flame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Erasure The Violet Flame - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If thrash metal has its \u201cbig four\u201d (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer), then synth-pop needs to have a \u201cbig three.\u201d The members would be Depeche Mode\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/erasure-the-violet-flame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-03T16:34:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-14T16:55:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/erasure-the_violet_flame.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dorian S. 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