Depeche Mode:
Delta Machine (limited):
Mute:
Out Now:
7/10:
So, is studio-album #13 unlucky for Dave Gahan and co? Actually, no. Despite being a bit of a laboured trudge in places, their first album on Columbia (curiously, still with the Mute logo on the sleeve) turns out to be fairly decent in the end. Just.
The extra songs at the end of the limited edition hardback-book edition are responsible for bumping the mark up by a point mind you, suffice to say that although this set is more rewarding than say, Exciter and Playing the Angel, much of Delta Machine drags, making it decidedly average and soporific in places.
Welcome To My World might have meant something more personal 20 years ago when Gahan was rubbing shoulders with just about every demon and near-death beckoning. Here its menacing sub-bass sounds like the opening song on the new Depeche Mode album, nothing more. Angel and Heaven are just, well, dull. It's only when song #4, Secret To The End, kicks in and Gahan's emotional vocal gives the album a much needed shot in the arm. Slow and Goodbye both recall Songs of Faith and Devotion-era cinematic swamp-blues, while Broken and Should Be Higher are pumping stand-outs, mainly for having at least something more than just a funereal beat. In fact the final half of the album is a triumph on the whole, save for the faux-American accents and Bono-isms on Alone and Soothe My Soul.
For enhanced listening pleasure, the album makes sense in reverse order with the excellent bonus tune All That's Mine added to the mix. With Gahan cleansed and Martin Gore joining Ben Hillier behind the mixing-desk, it's refreshing to see Depeche Mode still making music, even when they're not 'doing' a Violator or Ultra.
Delta Machine (limited):
Mute:
Out Now:
7/10:
The extra songs at the end of the limited edition hardback-book edition are responsible for bumping the mark up by a point mind you, suffice to say that although this set is more rewarding than say, Exciter and Playing the Angel, much of Delta Machine drags, making it decidedly average and soporific in places.
Welcome To My World might have meant something more personal 20 years ago when Gahan was rubbing shoulders with just about every demon and near-death beckoning. Here its menacing sub-bass sounds like the opening song on the new Depeche Mode album, nothing more. Angel and Heaven are just, well, dull. It's only when song #4, Secret To The End, kicks in and Gahan's emotional vocal gives the album a much needed shot in the arm. Slow and Goodbye both recall Songs of Faith and Devotion-era cinematic swamp-blues, while Broken and Should Be Higher are pumping stand-outs, mainly for having at least something more than just a funereal beat. In fact the final half of the album is a triumph on the whole, save for the faux-American accents and Bono-isms on Alone and Soothe My Soul.
For enhanced listening pleasure, the album makes sense in reverse order with the excellent bonus tune All That's Mine added to the mix. With Gahan cleansed and Martin Gore joining Ben Hillier behind the mixing-desk, it's refreshing to see Depeche Mode still making music, even when they're not 'doing' a Violator or Ultra.