Review: Erasure - World Be Gone

I’d wager most North Americans stopped listening to Erasure after ABBA-esque, and that was a mistake. Andy Bell’s been churning out music since Erasure made their first homosexual twirl to Sometimes in ’86 and on World Be Gone, he’s got something to say. 

As each song bleeds together it’s apparent this is a concept album, but it’ll take a few spins round the Victrola to grasp the weight of the message. You could say it’s a thinking queer’s American Idiot, with less eyeliner. Musically, I feel this is as unplugged as Erasure can ever get. Compared to their 80s hits which are lush and layered, this album is stripped back. It might be the first time I’ve really listened to Erasure lyrics.

From the jump, we’re presented with a blossoming relationship that crests at A Bitter Parting (duh), but Still It’s Not Over changes the album tone completely. It’s a lament and the lyrics about the ghosts along the Castro and dying on the steps of City Hall—Erasure’s resistance is dripping throughout. 

Themes of battling to be heard and seen in traditional society, feeling othered by peers and family, and just general loss permeate the album. And I’m fucking grateful for it. World Be Gone isn’t another story of love gone wrong. It’s a rally against the complacency of the erasure of queer history and if you didn’t get their band name before, you will now.