DEPECHE MODE – sounds of the universe (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

GROUP:  DEPECHE MODE

ALBUM:  sounds of the universe (digital version)

LABEL: Capitol

DURATION:  57:59

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2009

1. In Chains
2. Hole to Feed
3. Wrong
4. Fragile Tension
5. Little Soul
6. In Sympathy
7. Peace
8. Come Back
9. Spacewalker
10. Perfect
11. Miles Away-The Truth Is
12. Jezebel
13. Corrupt

DEPECHE MODE returns with their 12th full-length album on a new label, Capitol Records and features a refreshing blend of the group’s traditional synth sounds but also incorporating a dramatic but less brooding sound.

As a long time die-hard fan of the group, one of the difficulties I have had when “Ultra” and “Exciter” came out is putting a lot of their classic work away and not be stuck within the confines of the mindset of “the way they were”.

Even to this day, I still have “Violator” and “Music for the Masses” in my playlist and no matter how many years have passed, I just love the music that they produced during the 80′s and 90′s.

And for their last full-length album, although I did find “Playing the Angel” (their latest full-length album from 2005) quite satisfying, after several years of not receiving newer music, suffice to say that I have been looking forward to this new album and here we are nearly four years later with “sounds of the universe”.

The band reunites with producer Ben Hillier (who produced “Playing the Angel”) and the group has communicated that the sound of this album is to bring images of the universe and space travel. But listening to tracks such as “Fragile Tension”, “Peace” and “Jezebel” conjured up images of their 80′s work. In fact, a song like “Peace” was like a tease as I was expecting to hear one of their older tracks “See you” but nevertheless, when you hear these old nostalgic synth sounds you can’t help but smile and think that perhaps David Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher knows that many of us still cling to their past music.

But of course, you get pretty cool tracks such as the single track “Wrong” definitely had that sexy, edgy David Gahan-driven track that is quite addictive and then you get the schmoozy but sexy Gahan/Gore track “Little Soul”. And of course really cool tracks like “Jezebel” which definitely has cool synth sounds and “In Sympathy” with it’s cool groove, with the underlying experimental tones playing behind-the-scenes.

Overall, “sounds of the universe” is an album that grows over you in time. During the first playthrough, I was thinking that the album was OK but by the second and third playthrough, I found myself digging the tracks and listening to it more and more. You do get a little of everything in this album and there are songs that are catchy and addictive but I found myself gravitating towards songs like “wrong” and the songs that felt like classic DM!

After all these years, more than three decades later, DEPECHE MODE still are able to create good music and there are no signs of wear. “sounds of the universe” was a good album but I truly felt that in the end, it was not the album that hits you immediately. It’s one of those albums that grows on you overtime with repeated listening.