Album: Erasure, Tomorrow's World (Mute)

It's a peculiar quirk of pop history that Vince Clarke's third attempt at forming a synth-soul act was the one which stuck. Erasure have survived for 25 years now, and Tomorrow's World is their 14th studio album.

Reconvening after a four-year hiatus, the duo have carried on where they left off – meaning the Frankmusik-produced TW is gentle, blissful and devoid of the exuberant electro romps of yesteryear. Andy Bell's voice has unmistakeably changed over time, in a way which is difficult to pinpoint exactly, other than to say that there's less vibrato, more control.

There's a smart moment, in "Then I Go Twisting" when Bell sings, "Then I go insane, bored of this modern town/ Sick of this techno monophonic sound...". It's as if Erasure are saying to their less sophisticated successors: this is how you do it.