Andy Bell’s voice has never sounded as good as it does on the brilliant new Erasure disc, Union Street, released next week. The album is named after the street in Brooklyn where the duo recorded the tracks. For years the HIV+ and openly gay front man has teased us with the possibility of a stripped down, acoustic album. This is Mr. Bell doing his best Tammy Wynette. Obviously, he pulls it off. The band is also about to undertake their first tour with a live backing band, starting the US trek in Nashville, naturally.

Their rendition of the same-sex heartbreaker “Boy” opens the set and you can hear a definite maturity in Bell’s voice now. There is a richness, a depth, that was at times missing from the theatrical falsetto of Erasure albums past. Here his voice sounds stronger in the lower register and weaker in the higher, a complete reverse to the original versions of these songs. “Stay With Me” and “Rock Me Gently,” pulled from their underrated eponymous album are finally getting a deserved second chance. The album’s standout is the beautiful ballad “Home.” On their Chorus album the song was lost at the end of an overly stylized and produced dance pop record. Here it shimmers and builds like an epic tale.

The band’s take on their own catalog allows listeners to rediscover gems that never got radio play. It’s about time Vince Clarke and Andy Bell got a little respect as serious musicians and songwriters. Union Street is a brilliant record and deserves recognition.

Erasure Information Service [Official Site]

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Erasure's Andy Bell has released clips from his upcoming solo debut including his duet with that big fag Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. Bell was one of the first openly gay popstars paving the way for Mr. Shears' sequined ass and just last year announced that he had contracted HIV.

Last year Erasure released the critically lauded Nightbird and then toured Europe and the US, where they played 10 sold out shows in NYC and 5 in SF. Now Bell is set to release his first solo effort, Electric Blue, on October 4th. Arjan got his hands on a copy and posted a review a little while back.

Clips of the Shears/Bell sissy fabulous duet and of the first single "Crazy" are up now on the singer's site. The set is co-produced by dj duo Manhattan Clique and listening to the new tracks gives the impression that the album will be much more dancefloor ready than Erasure's more poppy fare.

Also,a clip of the upcoming Larry Tee collaboration "Matthew" is now posted on the Manhattan Clique website. That track, another dance record, is about the killing of Matthew Sheperd. Release details are not confirmed yet for that track.