Following the commercial and critical success of The Innocents, Erasure sidestepped slightly on Wild!, with slightly mixed results.

On the one hand, the by-now-established Erasure song formula resulted in a number of tunes sounding like revamps of earlier numbers, diminishing the overall impact.

"How Many Times?" is a ballad by numbers, while, some amusing bitchiness from Bell aside, "2000 Miles" is nice but a timekiller.

One or two other cuts fall into this category, making Wild! something of a choppy affair at best.

On the other hand, Erasure tries stretching its most since the orchestrated rerecordings on The Two-Ring Circus, often with great success.

"Drama!" has a slightly hysterical tone to it, but its strong dancefloor surge and weirdly droning backing Bell harmonies help make it another winner.

The gangshout /vocals (background) are also a kick as well -- especially as they were provided in part, via an uncredited appearance, by the Jesus and Mary Chain! "You Surround Me" is another flat-out winner -- it's another slow ballad, but with big, echoing backing that adds a sense of extra theatricality.

Other strong numbers include the relatively low key pulse of "Blue Savannah," which sounds like a light motorik/Kraftwerk number given the appropriate Erasure sparkle, and the charging "Brother and Sister," with a sharp synth hook and chorus.

Beginning and ending with versions of "Piano Song," the latter letting Bell get in some of his best singing, Wild! is a mixed but still worthy affair.