Nightbird is the eleventh studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released by Mute Records on 24 January 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 25 January 2005 in the United States.
History
Nightbird received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success, charting no higher than number 27 in UK. Despite the mixed critical reception, many longtime fans of the band hailed it as a return to the sound and feel of classic Erasure albums like Wonderland and Chorus. Singer Andy Bell's revelation that he was HIV-positive just prior to the album's release shed new meaning on the songs' introspective and sometimes melancholy lyrics.
The album's first single "Breathe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number four – Erasure's highest peak since "Always" hit number four in 1994. No singles from the album charted on the U.S. "Breathe" became Erasure's second number-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart – their first being "Victim of Love" in 1987.
A massive concert tour accompanied this album which travelled across Europe and the UK as well as North America. The tour, dubbed The Erasure Show, featured the extravagant set designs and costume changes Erasure is known for. The tour wrapped up in June 2005.
The album graphic artwork was made by the British artist Rob Ryan.
Nightbird was Erasure's first studio album not to be issued on vinyl; none of the three singles were released commercially on vinyl, although promotional remix 12"s exist. A vinyl version was finally released in 2016 for the band's 30th anniversary.
Critical reception
Nightbird was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 53 based on 14 reviews.
| 18
|-
! scope="row"| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)
| 53
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for Nightbird
! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)
| 23
|}