Depeche Mode’s Sounds Of The Universe combines bleeping synths, distorted guitars and crunchy percussion for a punchy, electrorock blaster.
Forget the sudden spate of reunions, if there is an Eighties revival under way it is because the real big guns are still firing, and still determined to be heard. Gauntlet-throwing albums from U2, the Cure and Metallica are now followed by a punchy, electrorock blaster from Depeche Mode. With its bleeping synths, distorted guitars, bluesy melodies and crunchy percussion, it sounds a lot like Violator, only without the silly Gothic posturing.
I confess to having struggled to take the Basildon bondage crew seriously in the past, perhaps because they seemed so determined to embrace the dark side, like Star Wars nerds posing as Darth Vader. Martin Gore’s lyrics exhibit a tendency towards comical prosaicness, somehow emphasised by the perkiness of his poppy melodies and David Gahan’s often bombastic vocals. Yet if the slightly tongue in cheek album title implies almost cosmic hubris, the content suggests a kinder, gentler Mode.