ANDY BELL

Non-Stop

[Mute]

After 25 years as half of the English synth-pop duo Erasure, it’s hard to imagine where singer Andy Bell finds the time for outside projects. And yet here he is with his second solo album, a three-suite affair aimed more at dance clubs than the airwaves. Working with Belgian producer Pascal Gabriel, Bell delivers 10 songs packed with relentless beats and dizzying electronic accompaniment. Deep, pulsing bass twists through opener “Running Out” as Bell delivers his lyrics in throaty tones. He pays tribute to Blondie singer Deborah Harry on “DHDQ,” buzzing synthesizers intertwining with Bell’s reverb-saturated voice. Bell shares vocals with Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell on “Honey If You Love Him (That’s All That Matters),” their voices rendered eerily robotic on the refrain. Although these songs hit harder than much of Erasure’s work, Non-Stop is less a departure than a companion piece to the music he’s been making for so long at his day job.
–Eric R. Danton