Sounds Of The Universe

Performer: Depeche Mode
Engineer: Anthony Palazzole; Josh Garcia; Jesse Gladstone; Ferg Peterkin
Producer: Ben Hillier
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Depeche Mode: Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher. Personnel: Luke Smith (programming). Audio Mixer: Tony Hoffer. Audio Remasterer: Stephen Marcussen. With SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE, Depeche Mode's follow-up to 2005's well-received PLAYING THE ANGEL, the renowned English synth-pop act tones down the dark Wagnerian mood of the earlier effort, resulting in a more dynamic sound that occasionally evokes the lighter, though no less dramatic, DM of the 1980s. As on ANGEL, chief songwriter Martin Gore cedes three songs to vocalist Dave Gahan (and his creative team), with the spiky "Hole to Feed" standing out among the latter's contributions. Highlights by the newly sober Gore include the fierce "Wrong" and the dreamy "Peace," songs that readily take their place along side Depeche Mode classics, and prove that the group is still in fine form nearly 30 years after its inception.

Spin (p.78) - "[C]uts like 'Fragile Tension' and 'Peace' coast along on the kind of catchy synth-pop grooves Depeche Mode specialized in throughout the '80s." Billboard (p.29) - "Depeche Mode continues to produce darkly atmospheric tracks about love, lust and death that have the vulnerability and immediacy of a shared secret." Blender (Magazine) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE kicks off with the spiky, twisted and impossibly gorgeous 'Wrong,' an epic blast of synth-pop bombast on the scale of VIOLATOR or BLACK CELEBRATION." Pitchfork (Website) - "Martin Gore can still be counted on to deliver the goods....Gahan's singing, meanwhile, is as strong as ever, always the perfect vehicle for Gore's lyrics..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.81) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Wrong' is one of the Mode's most satisfying tracks post-SONGS OF FAITH & DEVOTION and suggests they have many more albums left in them."

Depeche Mode (French for "hurried fashion") was one of the first and best of the British synth-pop bands, combining breathless, melodic pop with perky electronics. With main songwriter Vince Clarke's departure for Yaz, Martin Gore took the reigns, and the band's sound became darker and harder, though still true to their trademark synth-driven accessibility. The post-Clarke band's moody dance-pop brought Depeche Mode worldwide superstardom in the second half of the '80s. The band survived overexposure, drug problems, and all the other traditional rock-star travails, and came out older and wiser, entering the 2000s as a fully functioning, mature unit.

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