Depeche Mode -- Sounds of the Universe

ha no kidding

esp since I don't like "Wrong" nearly as much as everyone else seems to

just being a dissenting voice here but i wasnt blown away at all.

fwiw im basically the opposite of phil in what i want from depeche, which is way less electronic noodly stuff and way more arena synth-pop... and even the arena synth shit on this (like wrong) doesnt do it for me

This thread, I fear, is giving me some seriously unrealistic expectations.

ha no kidding

esp since I don't like "Wrong" nearly as much as everyone else seems to

Sadly, agreed.

fwiw i hated "wrong" the first time i heard it (the video in this thread), but i have done a complete 180 because it works so well in the context of the album . it very much makes sense as the third track.

fwiw i hated "wrong" the first time i heard it (the video in this thread), but i have done a complete 180 because it works so well in the context of the album . it very much makes sense as the third track.

substitute "hated" with "was a little disappointed by" and this is exactly how I feel about "wrong." I love it now.

oh the video is totally badass, I am just not convinced by the song yet

Walking In My Shoes demo = ROFL

(ok, maybe not ROFL, but certainly "uncomfortable O_o")

I've listened to this twice and so far I'm a bit underwhelmed. It feels very un-Depeche, which is surprising after Playing the Angel which I thought was the perfect encapsulation of what post-Violator DM is about. I guess the new one has a bit in common with Exciter, but whereas that album seemed to aim for a sultry night vibe (only half-successfully) the new one, and this is a first, mostly comes across as a daytime album.

the other night I dreamt I was watching tv and there was a commercial for depeche mode lego sets

― peter in montreal, Thursday, 26 March 2009 21:46 (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Construction time again.

― a tiny, faltering megaphone (grimly fiendish), Thursday, 26 March 2009 22:24 (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Haw I contributed this to Photoshop/MS Paint Nike and other evil corporations ruining famous album covers almost four years ago!:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b356/olem/lego_depeche.jpg

am listening for the first time right now: Sounds Fantastic! Best since Violator: too early to tell, but I wouldn't be surprised.

My AMG review is up.

The sounds in the chorus of "Peace" remind me of Lindstrom/Prins Thomas' "Run"

Anyway, got the box set edition in the mail today and it is crazily gorgeous. Currently listening to the second disc with the extra session tracks and remixes -- "Light"'s a good little number, fits in line with something like "Martyr" and, stepping back a bit, "Sacred" (more on the lyrical front).

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-closure21-2009apr21,0,3970072.story

Hollywood Boulevard to close for Depeche Mode show

The band will tape a performance Thursday at 8 p.m. at Hollywood and Vine. The boulevard will be closed from 11 p.m. Wednesday until Friday at 6 a.m.

The demos disc is fascinating stuff for sure -- not just hearing Martin's lead on most of the songs but some of the elements not carried over. Like on "Judas," where there's a very Jamaican-style synth-horn part that appears.

nice review, ned.

I think I prefer your review to the album at the moment, Ned. However: this is a first listen and yes, you're right, I think it almost certainly will be a grower. (And I can't help but be disappointed given some of the breathlessness upthread -- including my own!)

Thank yer both. (Grimly -- it wouldn't be the first time that's happened; I *still* get people going "I wish I liked Exciter as much as you did with your review!")

Hahaha, brilliant (ad for the German market -- Martin speaks a couple of languages fluently IIRC):

okay "In Chains" starts very very well

"In Chains" continues very very well! awesome

"Hole To Feed" seems kind of silly; it may be partially because of the terrible headphones I'm listening to this through, though.

That one's a bit goofy but it won me over after a few listens.

The ending is more appealing than the beginning.

So my above stance on "Wrong" is quickly changing because I find myself humming it constantly; it's amazing what a great video can do for a song, huh?

(also the lyrics are badass)

lol so my first reaction upon hearing the opening to "Fragile Tension" was "wow someone has been overdosing on Ladytron CDs"

I can't believe how great Dave sounds these days.

"wow someone has been overdosing on Ladytron CDs"

Hahaha. Hey, they got 'em to open for the tour in Europe for a reason!

So as of "Little Soul", this album basically makes me think they're trying to recreate Exciter using the equipment they used for A Broken Frame.

"In Sympathy" has a really nice intro.

They are trying to slim down and re-Vincify on this album, it seems. There's a sense of lean spring to the music that's been missing for a while.

x-post -- Pretty much!

I mutter this in the review but there's definitely a sense of 'here's where we are now but using the tools we would have had back then,' which is essentially your point. And I like that because that adds initial notes of the unexpected -- in hearing the demos for this album on the box set it's also interesting to hear what did and didn't change much from the 'rough' versions to the final cut. I'll be watching the DVD stuff tonight to see what else can be gleaned.

There's a sense of lean spring to the music that's been missing for a while.

This can be especially heard in the three Dave-sung bonus tracks on the second disc that aren't remixes -- "Light," "Ghost" and "Oh Well."

"Peace" I didn't notice; I got distracted.

"Come Back" is gorgeous!

"Peace" you gotta get back to, total 1984-era bassline for them. And yeah, "Come Back" is one of my favorites, another wonderful Dave-written song.

It's funny I really don't hear the old school vibes so many of you are talking about. So far "Come Back" and "Miles Away" are the ones really kicking my ass. Love the kind of sun-hazed vibe of those two. Also I can't believe no-one has mentionned "Jezebel" whic is really goregous in a Lynch kind of way.

it's amazing what a great video can do for a song, huh?

Yes, Wrong didn't really connect with me until I watched the video. Actually, what I dug the most was the Youtube studio footage of Dave recording it into a handheld mic. Watching him give it his all was really inspiring.
I need to listen to the album another couple of times before deciding on where it sits in their canon. The advance press lead me to wonder if it was going to be Black Celebration Redux, but it most definitely is not.

"Jezebel" is one of those ones where the demo has just enough difference from the final version -- it's the same pace/lyrics/etc but Martin initially sang it with more clarity, where this sounds a little more drowned. The Lynch vibe is there (or more accurately Badalamenti) but I think this one might get a bit lost because it's such a Martin song, ie the softly lugubrious ballad like so many others. "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" is more immediate to me, but its remix via the iTunes pass was even more so.

I really don't get that P4K review

all this talk of a broken frame is very exciting!

RRRONG!

i only just starting getting into the last depeche mode album, which was enough to make me reassess my "meh" reaction to the band overall. 'precious' is one of the dopest tracks in their catalog. definitely going to check out this one, 'wrong' sounds pretty good.

okay I'm listening today on better headphones and the difference is AMAZING; I should never listen to music on that other set of headphones ever again

"Peace" is kind of cool, you guys

I like how empty/sparse these songs are!

I hope this isn't bad form to mention here, but we (well, mainly I) put together a pretty cool feature for Rhapsody, including some exclusive quotes from remixers Michael Mayer, Rex the Dog, Roman Flügel and others. It's here: http://blog.rhapsody.com/2009/04/justcantgetenoughdepechemode.html

...and that's my last self-promotion on the matter.

"I like how empty/sparse these songs are!"

yup, and the space makes the synths sing!

hey pshrbrn, the photos need captions so people can find out who the remixers are!

A great album, as expected. Haven't really dived that much into it yet, but it seems like another solid long player. Now I don't joined that "best since Violator" bunch yet, simply because 1. their previous album was absolutely marvellous and 2. There are at least four other Depeche albums that I would rank ahead of "Violator" anyway. But this is solid stuff, no doubt. I like the heavy use of analog synths, and that there seems to be fewer guitars than for a while.

Funny, I find this album very guitar heavy but in a mellow soft rock way as opposed to the RAWK thing they went for on SOTD