The Circus

With “Oh L’Amour” giving Erasure their breakthrough moment on the previous album, the duo returned the following year with a greater sense that everything was firing on all fours with The Circus, with both Vince Clarke and Andy Bell starting to work fully in sync on several levels. Clarke’s new knack for combining his trademark synth work with acoustic guitar paid off on great songs like “Sometimes” and “It Doesn’t Have To Be,” while Bell comes further into his singing voice, as well as delivering some sharper narratives as on the coming-out lyric of “Hideaway.”