''Nightbird'' is the eleventh studio album by English
synth-pop duo
Erasure
Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...
, released by
Mute Records on 24 January 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 25 January 2005 in the United States.
History
''Nightbird'' received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success, charting no higher than number 27 in UK. Despite the mixed critical reception, many longtime fans of the band hailed it as a return to the sound and feel of classic Erasure albums like ''
Wonderland'' and ''
Chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
''. Singer
Andy Bell's revelation that he was
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
-positive just prior to the album's release shed new meaning on the songs' introspective and sometimes melancholy lyrics.
The album's first single "
Breathe" entered the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number four – Erasure's highest peak since "
Always
Always may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom
* ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg
* ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...
" hit number four in 1994. No singles from the album charted on the U.S. "Breathe" became Erasure's second number-one on the
Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart – their first being "
Victim of Love" in 1987.
A massive concert tour accompanied this album which travelled across
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the
UK as well as
North America. The tour, dubbed ''The Erasure Show'', featured the extravagant set designs and costume changes Erasure is known for. The tour wrapped up in June 2005.
The album graphic artwork was made by the British artist
Rob Ryan
Robert Allen Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the senior defensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Ryan has served as a defensive coordinator or assistant co ...
.
''Nightbird'' was Erasure's first studio album not to be issued on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
; none of the three singles were released commercially on vinyl, although promotional remix 12"s exist. A vinyl version was finally released in 2016 for the band's 30th anniversary.
Critical reception
''Nightbird'' was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 53 based on 14 reviews.
In a review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, critic reviewer David Jeffries wrote: "Bell's dealings with HIV have obviously influenced ''Nightbird'', but he rarely points right to it, making the album adaptable to any listener's own introspection. Smart, moving, approachable, and well constructed, ''Nightbird'' is Erasure's mature masterpiece."
Christian Hoard from ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' explained: "''Nightbird'' is full of elegant dance pop topped by the choirboy-like Bell singing about love, heartache and dreams. One could easily mistake ''Nightbird'' for something the duo made in the Eighties."
Track listing
2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP
Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalog, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's ''
Light at the End of the World
''Light at the End of the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 May 2007 by Mute Records. The album's release was announced on the band's website on 26 January 2007 in a video message from membe ...
''. All titles were pressed and distributed by
Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.
This marked the first release of this album on vinyl.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
2005 albums
Erasure albums
Mute Records albums