Depeche Mode - 'Sounds of The Universe' (Mute) Released 20/04/09

Twenty-eight years on from their first foray into the music charts, the seminal Depeche Mode follow fellow 80’s warblers U2 and The Cure in letting the world know they are not quite ready for the home. ‘Sounds of The Universe’ is studio album number 12 for DM and it’s release comes with all the fanfare of Alistair Darling’s Budget. Whoop fucking whoop. DM have long since established their boundaries and they are in no rush to push them or even get near. Yet, as ‘Sounds of The Universe’ falls smack in the middle of their mould it has been done with fresh aplomb. Ben Hillier (Blur, Doves, Elbow) returns and deserves the credit here as he strips DM to the core. Writing credits feature not only Martin Gore but Dave Gahan, the later coming fresh from two solo projects.

With its bleeping synths, distorted guitars and crisp percussion, ‘Sounds of The Universe’ sounds a lot like 1990’s ‘Violator’ yet this time around, it is a lot softer, gentler even. Latest single ‘Wrong’ swaggers forward as if one of the gangs from Grease has made a guest appearance in Back To The Future. Yet, as the massed-chorus underlines the ill-fortune, the feeling is greasy rather than glossy. Make no mistake, DM don’t leave their comfort zone but in tracks like ‘In Sympathy’ and ‘Peace’ they have purified the analogue synths of old, making the whole sound larger, and the latter, almost hymn like. ‘I’m leaving bitterness behind, this time / I’m cleaning out my mind.’ Group therapy, it seems, continues for the former smack, alcoholic and bondage veterans.

On ‘Come Back,’ Gahan perhaps sums up his bands standing: ‘Walking a thin, white line / Between love and hate / Wasting all my time / I’m in another world.’  Their influence is undeniable and wide-ranging from the likes of Radiohead to the Cocoon Resident DJ Ricardo Villalobos, but this isn’t a come back. Like Bono and co. this is an attempt to show the young pretenders they still have it, maybe even to show themselves. The hardcore will lap it up, whilst everyone else will let it pass with a small shrug and a nod to the past.