march 18.2005 •
just out 3g
MUSIC
Nightbird
In & out
Erasure • Mute
hen pondering the most dependable
Erasure’s Andy Bell bravely comes out as poz,
duos of all time, who comes to mind?
while Moby voluntarily goes in the cloz
Elton John and Bernie Taupin? Batman
and Robin perhaps? Surely rum and Coke must
figure into the equation.
Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, better known
as Erasure, can also stake their claim as two
who rarely fail to please. Releasing albums of
sounds from his great
musical beauty and emotional uplift every cou
wall of keyboards.
ple of years since 1986s Wonderland, Erasure
Bell recently
has dropped another gem, Nightbird, as well as a revealed that he has
bombshell that makes its new work a shade
been HIV-positive since
more bittersweet.
1998. He is taking com
Erasure’s music past and present follows The
bination therapy and
Beatles’ motto, “All You Need Is Love.” Most
claims to feel better
of its wistful songs are about falling in and out
than ever while prepar
of love (and the countless stages in between),
ing to embark on a
and some of their best has the L-word in rhe
world tour that will hit
title: “Victim of Love,” “Chains of Love,”
U.S. soil in April.
“Love to Hate You” and “Oh L’Amour.”
Nightbird doesn’t
Erasure’s release of a covers album and a
break any new ground,
greatest hits collection in 2003 did not bode
but it doesn’t need to. In fact, it’s proof positive
vegan who hated Eminem, and his Area: One
well for its future. While Nightbird does not
that you needn’t fix what isn’t broken.
Music Festival was spectacular, bringing togeth
soar quite as high as 1988’s The Innocents,
—Jim Thompson er a diverse lineup under one sky during the
1991 ’s Chorus or 1997’s Cowboy—high water
summer of 2001. (Opening acts included Out-
marks all—it does at least put to rest concerns
kast and the freshly reunited New Order, fea
Hotel
about its ability to keep churning out the most
turing guest guitarist Billy Corgan.)
human electronic music available.
Moby • V2
But then he came down with the Kevin
Bell’s vocals sound as clear and sumptuous
Spacey Syndrome. While promoting his 1999
as ever on “1’11 Be There,” “All This Time Still
have a love-hate relationship with Moby.
album Play— featuring the hit singles “Porce
Falling Out of Love,” “Sweet Surrender” and
He initially caught my ear with a string of lain” and “Southside”—he came out of the
the majestically multitracked first single,
lively techno tracks: 1994’s “Feeling So
closet, telling Metro, “I’m neither straight nor
“Breathe.” Clarke, onetime songwriter for Yaz
Real,” 1996’s “Every Time You Touch Me” and
gay; I’m pretty much bisexual.”
and Depeche Mode, continues to coax comple
1997’s “James Bond Theme” from Tomorrow
Three years later, after spending too much
mentary, if sometimes slightly self-plagiaristic,
Never Dies. 1 admired that he was a progressive
time hanging out with the popular kids, rhe
W
I
nerd was singing a different tune on his Web
site: “I’ve decided that once every few months I
will answer the ‘Is Moby gay, bi or straight etc.'
question. But I will answer in the most enter
taining way that 1 can. For the tmth (I’m
straight) is pretty tedious.”
Pity.
Just like Mr. Spacey, Mr. Dick’s
talent seemed to vanish along with
his queer orientation. His next
album, 2002’s 18, was an embar
rassing carbon copy of Play, and his
weak performance at Area: Two
(he insisted on headlining despite
the presence of David Bowie)
revealed that he had run out of
ideas.
Moby makes up some lost
ground on his new CD by attempt
ing a more organic sound; whereas
past records have relied heavily on
samples, this one is sample-free.
The disco hooks are back, too, par
ticularly on the pulsating “Very.”
Still, Moby needs to check his ego at the
front desk of this Hotel. He ruins otherwise
decent songs (“Beautiful” and “Slipping
Away”) by repeating one line ad nauseam
(“Look at us we’re beautiful” and “Hold onto
people they’re slipping away”), and the release
features a dull, unnecessary second disc of
allegedly “ambient” music.
He also should apologize to ex-tourmates
New Order for his drippy remake of “Tempta
tion.” At least the singer, Laura Dawn, is the
cultural director of MoveC9n.org, so you can’t
be too hard on the guy.
—Jim Radosta jD
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