ERASURE

Day-Glo (Based On A True Story) (Mute)

In 2020, Mute released Erasure’s 18th album The Neon to critical acclaim and also their highest chart entry in decades. Instead of basking in that glory, Vince Clarke went back into his studio and began deconstructing and reconstructing files that had been previously created for The Neon.

Clarke’s reconstructions were then handed over to bandmate Andy Bell to work on with long-time Mute production and studio wiz Gareth Jones; the end result is Day-Glo (Based On A True Story).

Very small traces of The Neon are evident, soundwise, on a body of work that takes Erasure into cinematic territory. Day-Glo (Based On A True Story) is an ambient, pulsating, electronic piece of work that successfully strides the world of futuristic sci-fi cinematic soundscapes and heart-and-soul-fuelled pop cleverness: not many artists can claim to sound this thrillingly inventive 19 albums in.

words DAVID NOBAKHT