Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe

I think no one really wants me e to do a detailed introduction to DEPECHE MODE because it’s simply unnecessary, so instead of rolling down their history we start right away with the first song of the new album ‘Sounds of The Universe’, titled ‘In Chains’, whose first good minute is more of a sound experiment with varying analogue frequencies tuned up and down. A bit of an odd start but those sounds disappear all of a sudden and reveal a sound layer strongly resembling an organ and then finally Dave’s voice, as distinctive as a finger print, hovers through the ether accompanied by meandering guitar lines in regular distances while clicking synth lines emerge slowly and eventually migrate into a rhythm that sounds much like someone’s bashing on aluminium.

‘Wrong’, the very first of supposedly a couple more single releases off the album for me is the track with the strongest rhythm. It’s a rhythm that instantly makes you want to its pulsating vibes and all the analogue sound gadgets just won’t let this song get boring. That said the lyrics are brilliant; especially when you put them in context with the video clip. The initial sounds of the drumbeats on ‘Fragile Tension’ always make me think of a rasp. I know it sounds kinda weird. After about 20 seconds and a few shredding guitar effects added the beat becomes clearer and Dave starts singing with a sort of mellow vocal styling. I fell in love with the swirling synth textures soaring up for the chorus and encompassing the vocals just like the dirty, very harsh guitars. ‘Little Soul’ became a favourite of mine at first listen exploring darker atmospheric edges and spiked with mechanic dissonances. There’s one complaint though. I find the use of these psychedelic guitars somewhat odd. Doesn’t seem to fit into the song!

‘Perfect’ contains two different moods. The first one is of a surreal and otherworldly kind and permeates the whole verse section writhing through disturbing noises and nostalgic melodic drops that changes towards a thick layered atmospheric phenomena whose mood swings between idiosyncratic glee and subtle compunction as soon as Dave strikes up the chorus. Very basic clicking drum patterns and deep drones coupled with ephemeral melodies announce ‘Jezebel’, the only song Martin sings alone on ‘Sounds of the Universe’ and its definitely a much better vocal performance than on ‘Playing The Angel’ though I liked these two songs as well as opposed to many others. The melodies oscillating in the background and the gently played guitar make for a perfect backdrop for the vocals and underscore the mood they transport. The album’s ending ‘Corrupt’ after an unsuspecting start reveals a grittier side with distorted, shredding guitars, dirt-covered beats and gloomy chorals and is it just me or does Dave’s voice have an insidious or better slightly sadistic overtone “I could corrupt you / It would be easy / Watching you suffer / God that would please me”.

I had a very tough time getting into ‘Sounds of the Universe’. It feels so much different than earlier stuff but you should never give up too early and it really started growing on me and more sound details surfaced than I would have imagined to be in there at all. Really didn’t seem like it at the beginning and I came to like many songs of it. Still, it’s not the killer album everyone was waiting for; it’s good but not outstanding and even though I like calm songs this album is too calm for my taste. As I mentioned before, ‘Wrong’ is the most rhythmic track on it. A little more rhythm at some points wouldn’t have hurt really.