029. Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe

Sounds of the Universe has sat at home in my vinyl 'in' pile for weeks since release. After the initial listen, I've procrastinated, delayed, excused and postponed sitting down, putting on the needle and writing about it. When a band of the undeniable international uber-stardom calibre of the mode require review, one is slightly reticent that the language at my disposal is adequate to do justice to their offerings. When I wrote about Construction Time Again (007), it felt forced and unnatural. This unease becomes multiplied by my own overpowering love for everything produced by the band. They are my absolute, without question, all time hero worship, without doubt mega-favourite band.

Before Sounds, their 12th studio album, 2005's Playing The Angel marked an amazing return to form. The album was dark, introspective, and sombre, but peppered with flecks of hope and redemption. Admittedly, these themes are nothing new for the mode, having made their name exploring these realms. This time, however, it seemed focused and tight, as if the band had honed their skills, the album gelling together in a cohesive unit. It was done with aplomb, precision and attention to detail, entrenching their image as the dark lords of synth-goth.

After listening, writing, re-listening, and re-writing this post, I can only really come to one conclusion: this isn’t as good as Playing The Angel. While Playing lyrically felt cutting, deep and sombre, Sounds just feels angsty, teeny and generally shallow. Playing was sonically hard and harsh, Sounds is light and fluffy. The album cover seems to echo the quality of the music: generally bland, uninspiring, and grey.

At first I though that comparison between the two was simply because of the shared producer, Ben Hillier. Then it hit me. The real problem is that Playing is my favourite mode album; the next was always going to be a let down. So, is Sounds vintage mode? Not quite, but there are some nice tracks, and well, it’s Depeche Mode, of course I still love it.


Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe: Hole To Feed
[Mute : STUMM300]
(2009)

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