Erasure - Tomorrow's World (LP) - Clear Vinyl

Erasure’s fourteenth studio album, Tomorrow’s World, arrived in 2011 and still feels like a clever pivot from a duo with nothing left to prove. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell had already written half the pop canon for synth tragics, yet they chose to work with producer Frankmusik and mixer Rob Orton to give their sound a sleeker, contemporary edge. You can hear the decision instantly. The beats punch a little harder, the low end is tighter, and the keyboards shimmer with that crisp, glassy finish Frankmusik was known for in the late 2000s. It never overwhelms the core of Erasure though. Clarke’s hooks and Bell’s voice remain centre stage, which is where they belong.

The singles tell the story. “When I Start To (Break It All Down)” takes classic Erasure optimism and threads it through a more modern pop frame, the kind that nods to the club but still feels built for the car stereo. “Be With You” leans brighter, almost fizzy, and it’s one of those songs where Bell’s phrasing turns a simple line into a little moment of theatre. “Fill Us with Fire” brings the tempo up and taps a charged energy that suits the album’s title. There’s a sense of forward motion in these tracks, like a band choosing the quick step rather than the victory lap.

Clarke’s synth craft is as sharp as ever. He has a way of layering parts so each one feels essential, from the chewy bass patches to the starburst arpeggios that light up a chorus. If you’ve followed him from Depeche Mode and Yazoo through to the Erasure catalogue, you’ll recognise the architecture. What Tomorrow’s World adds is a glossy skin and a little extra snap on the drums. Rob Orton’s mix pushes the rhythm to the front, not to chase trends but to suit the songs. Bell meets it with vocals that are supple and generous. There’s warmth in his delivery even when the lyrics tug toward doubt, and that tension gives the record its pulse.

It’s also a neat late-period entry point. Long-time fans will hear a conversation with earlier moments like Chorus and Nightbird, while new listeners coming from pop and electro in the 2010s will find a production palette that feels familiar. That balancing act was picked up by reviewers at the time, with several notable publications pointing out how the collaboration with Frankmusik brought a fresh coat of paint without scrubbing off the character. You can disagree on which deep cuts land best, but the record’s intent is clear. It wants to be played loud, it wants you to sing along, and it wants you to feel better by track three than you did when you pressed play.

On vinyl the album really breathes. The low frequencies have room to bloom, and the synth lines sit in a sweet pocket that flatters Clarke’s tones. If you’re crate digging for Erasure vinyl, a clean copy of Tomorrow’s World vinyl is a lovely match with the duo’s classic eighties and nineties runs. It’s the kind of piece you could pull from a Melbourne record store bin, take home, and file next to The Innocents without it feeling out of place. And if you buy Erasure records online, this one is a handy add because it bridges eras. Spin it after a side of Wonderland and you can hear how the songwriting through-line holds, even as the gear shifts from analogue bite to digital sheen.

Erasure toured behind this record with the Tomorrow’s World Tour, and those live shows made a strong case for the new material. The songs slotted in neatly with the hits, which says a lot. Plenty of heritage acts struggle to seat recent tracks between the big singalongs. Here, the transition felt natural. That’s the album’s quiet success. It doesn’t reinvent Erasure so much as reframe them, letting a younger producer tilt the mirrors while the duo keep steering.

If you’re exploring Erasure albums on vinyl and want something that captures the group in reflective yet forward-looking mode, this is a good bet. It’s polished, but it still feels human. It nods to the dancefloor without chasing it. And it reminds you that Clarke and Bell never lost their knack for melodies that stick. For anyone building a synth-pop shelf among the vinyl records Australia scene has embraced in recent years, Tomorrow’s World will sit nicely between the nostalgia staples and the newer electro-pop the kids are grabbing now.