Erasure – The Violet Flame (3CD Deluxe Version) (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:16:28 minutes | 1,56 GB | Genre: Synthpop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mute
Erasure are back with their 16th studio album, The Violet Flame, an emotionally-charged electro-pop album with euphoric, synth-fuelled melodies that strike instantly into the heart. “The Violet Flame” Deluxe Boxset is available for Pledge Music customers only, and includes the album on CD and 24bit FLAC download, plus two bonus CDs: “Live at The Short Circuit Festival”, and “The Violet Flame Remixed” which is exclusive to the box-set and will not be available anywhere else.
The theme of transformation and new beginnings is captured in the album’s title, a literal spiritual term meaning the transformation of negative energy into positive energy, freedom and forgiveness. Erasure enlisted the production expertise of Richard X after their successful collaboration on Snow Globe, and the tracks were recorded between his London studio The Toyshop and by Clarke in his Brooklyn studio.
Following a holiday album (2013’s Snow Globe) with this “return to form” album means veteran duo Erasure are now on the cliched career revival path for aging pop stars, but maybe it’s just by chance. Make that “likely,” as The Violet Flame gets right down to dancey, inspired business on its opening “Dead of Night,” a track that pumps with the beat of any given single off the duo’s great 1989 album Wild!. Classic lyrics from Andy Bell speak to the morality play that club night can be (“Too many times you’re forgiven/Now you cry like you’re the victim”) then the chorus is like a pair of bright red cha-cha heels (a joyful stuttering of “D-d-d-dead of night”) that won’t be ignored. If hearing Bell in his Maleficent costume is a decadent kind of delicious, he’s still an excellent Sleeping Beauty as well, as the pumping “Paradise” welcomes a new soul mate with open arms and open heart. Synth man Vince Clarke is simpatico in these back-to-the-future surroundings, as the great “Be the One” sounds like he plundered the computer and found some early sketches of Yaz’s “Only You.” while “Under the Wave” could be seamlessly mixed with all the minimal bleeping and blooping on Depeche Mode’s debut album Speak & Spell, also known as Clarke’s last hurrah with the band. The big anthem this time out is “Elevation,” a cut with the simplicity of Robin S’s “Show Me Love” and lyrics preaching freedom to the dancing masses (“It makes you kinda wonder, what are we supposed to do/When the fate of many, is guided by the hand of few/Who-o-oa.”), then there’s the closing “Stayed a Little Late Last Night” and the heart-breaking “Smoke and Mirrors,” both serving the roles of a soul-filling number that sticks to the bones. With all the elements in place, the late-era The Violet Flame sits on the top shelf of Erasure albums, and considering all the greatness in the back catalog, that’s no easy task.
Tracklist:
CD1 – The Violet Flame:
01 – Dead Of Night
02 – Elevation
03 – Reason
04 – Promises
05 – Be The One
06 – Sacred
07 – Under The Wave
08 – Smoke and Mirrors
09 – Paradise
10 – Stayed A Little Late Tonight
CD2 – Live At Short Circuit, The Roundhouse, London 14/05/11:
01 – Hideaway
02 – Fingers & Thumbs (Cold Summer’s Day)
03 – Heavenly Action
04 – Always
05 – Ship Of Fools
06 – Victim Of Love
07 – Breathe
08 – Chains Of Love
09 – Sometimes
10 – Blue Savannah
11 – A Little Respect
CD3 – The Violet Flame Remixed:
01 – Dead Of Night [WAWA In The Dark Remix]
02 – Elevation [BT Remix]
03 – Reason [Carter Tutti Remix (Edit)]
04 – Promises [Astrolith Remix]
05 – Be The One [Paul Humphreys Remix]
06 – Sacred [Daniel Miller Remix]
07 – Under The Wave [Parralox Remix]
08 – Smoke and Mirrors [Atatika Remix]
09 – Paradise [Black Light Odyssey Remix]
10 – Stayed A Little Late Tonight [Koishii & Hush v’s Ric Scott Remix]
