A new Erasure release is always something of a high emotional watermark for me. This is a duo who have been a part of my life for 40 years, whose music has soundtracked the most important events, who have provided the impetus for all the musical searching I have ever done, and who are the reason I accidentally became a music journalist in the first place. So, yeah, the advent of a new Erasure project is kind of a big and important deal for me.
‘Wings Of Love’, the first single to be taken from next year’s Radio!! Radio!!, arrived – as all their releases seem to – at a pivotal point in my life, and it shall thus become its soundtrack. I turned 50 just before it was released. My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Our youngest daughter started university. Our eldest daughter began her final year of her degree. The nest that had once been filled with the sound of our daughters’ voices suddenly feels very empty.
It is a fragile, subtle Vince Clarke / Andy Bell composition. It has two core ingredients – a sinewy, slowly-evolving arpeggio from Clarke that acts as the main musical focal point of the track, and a strident vocal from Bell that illustrates how powerful his voice has become in recent years. There are many signature moments that mark this out as a classic Erasure moment – emotive lyrics that only Bell would be able to explain, and subtle additions from Clarke that illustrate his unique electronic music ear (delicate piano notes, a sudden introduction of a reductive melody). Yet it is also a curiosity – while it undoubtedly has a chorus, it isn’t necessarily evident as one until you listen a few times; there is no discernible Clarke middle-eight melody; it is comfortable in its slow ascent rather than evolving toward an epic denouement. It is proof that, after 41 years as a duo, there are still new areas to explore, new avenues to head down, new ideas to be cultivated.
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Much of the fan reaction to the release of the single was not about ‘Wings Of Love’ itself, but the fact that Clarke would not be performing on stage for the shows to accompany the album. This wasn’t news – it had been mentioned before, but perhaps fans hadn’t wanted to believe it. I get it. It will be a different Erasure, and one that will be strange to contemplate. I spoke with Clarke about this a lot while I was staying with him in California a couple of times this year. It is evidently a weight off his mind after a brutal two years of loss and change. In fact, I’d say that in general he was the happiest, most secure and most relaxed I’ve known him to be in the decade I’ve called him a friend.
There is a strange expectation that celebrities are somehow immune to the experiences and emotions of average human beings; in the case of Clarke that he would not be impacted by the volatility and unpredictability of grief, for example. To fans putting their own feelings ahead of his, I’d encourage them to be thankful that he is still actively involved in the tour – he was keenly programming tracks for the set when I was at his house in August – and that we continue to have a chance to see our favourite band on tour while we can.
Wings Of Love was released September 28 2026 by Mute Artists.
Words: Mat Smith
(c) 2026 Documentary Evidence
