Review: Vince Clarke and Andy Bell won plenty of praise for their 19th album as Erasure, last year's Neon, with critics praising the analogue-rich, retro-futurist nature of its synth-pop sound. The tracks on this five-track EP, which was mostly recorded during the same period, mine the same pool of vintage synth sounds, some of which are reminiscent not of the pair's early joint works in the 1980s, but Clarke's earlier spell as one of the founder members of Depeche Mode. 'Time (Hearts Full of Love)' and 'Same Game' are both melancholic, stirring and addictive in equal measures, while the bleeping 'Leaving' is pleasingly dreamy. Those seeking more up-tempo, club-ready sounds should head for 'Secrets', a throbbing slab of turn-of-the-80s dance-pop which boasts numerous nods to Giorgio Moroder and Bobby Orlando.
Review: Indie favourites Eels are back with 'Eels Time!' via the E Works bale in collaboration with Play It Again Sam. This album is the group's 15th studio release overall and comes a year after a busy 12 months of touring which saw them take their popular and long-awaited Lockdown Hurricane tour across Europe and North America. The show, and the following compilation Eels So Good: Essential Eels, celebrated more than three decades of their music and this fins them back with all new material recorded between Los Feliz, Los Angeles and Dublin, Ireland, with contributions from Koool G Murder, The Chet and Sean Coleman.
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