Boy heralds Vince Clarke and Andy Bell's upcoming acoustic album Union Street, from which it is the first single. First heard on the duo's 1997 Cowboy album, here Clarke and producer Steve Walsh layer Boy with slide and acoustic guitar, while Bell multitracks his voice.
For a band whose name is synonymous with synth pop, the very fact that Erasure have recorded a whole album of acoustic arrangements might seem odd. Instead, as Clarke has pointed out, the different arrangements of these songs simply underline the solid songwriting on which the duo's long career has been built.
Boy is essentially a song of regret from Bell about that old chestnut, a relationship breakup. "When you've had your taste of freedom, Don't come crying on my shoulder," he cries, and the slide guitar wails as if in sympathy.
The parent album is made up of songs not previously released as singles, many of which the duo would have preferred to see out already. In this context they certainly show another side to this most enduring of music acts.
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