ERA’s debut release is the work of composer Eric Lévi.  The group is from France, and made a bit of a splash with their first single, “Ameno,” as the theme from the Mastercard/World Cup campaign.

Lévi has written several movie soundtracks, including contributions to the
hit comedy “Les Visiteurs” by French director Jean-Marie Poiré.  This record was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, and is described as a “soundscape of lush vocals, haunting choirs, and delicate harps.”  Well, I don’t know about all of that.

There are some parts of this album that I enjoyed.  “Avemano” combines some orchestral music with an electric guitar line that makes the song
interesting.  It was appealing to hear these sounds put together.

“Ameno” sounded a bit like Enigma.  Just a bit.  The difference I hear with ERA is that so much of this album makes me think I’m in church.  The choir is a bit of overkill at times in the music.  With Enigma, I get a feeling of sensuality.  On this record the same idea just fell flat for me.

This record is not what I’d recommend.  It’s not horrible, just a bit
lengthy in some of the compositions.  There is a remix of “Ameno” that drags on forever - or so it seemed.  The thing that I liked least about this album was the way that they included regular vocals in a song, and then suddenly switched over to this sort of chanting from the choir.  I didn’t like it at all.  I really think I’d pass this one over.  I’m not sure what Lévi was shooting for with this, but I think it fell short of the mark.