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Sounds Of The Universe

Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe Audio CD

A fair review of the Depeche Mode "Sounds Of The Universe" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Depeche Mode reviews here, or go back to the Depeche Mode tabs.

Band: Depeche Mode
Title: Sounds Of The Universe
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-04-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 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

Great Album!
I've been a DM fan since a little boy back in the early 80's. This is great. This album is great all the tracks are good and you don't get tired of listening to them. I highly look forward to the next new album. Hopefully it will be soon!.

The sounds of the Vintage Depeche Mode.
Many years since then including buying their CDs, I came to notice a profound change from the light, somewhat obtuse experimental pop of "Broken Frame" and "Construction Time" towards the darker and more austere industrial electronica of "Violator" through the harsh electronica of "Playing The Angel". I have been a huge fan of Depeche Mode since I was around 12 or 13 years old when I heard their music on the radio station Q-101 back in Chicago. All in all, I've always been willing to wait years between releases because of how DM evolved between releases.

Their newest album "Sounds of the Universe" proves this with a profound departure from it's immediate predecessors and marks a welcome return to the early days of 1982-84 DM. It almost seems like a long overdue sequel to "Construction Time Again" that took 26 years to release. :) The bell-chime sounds heard in "In Chains" reinforce my point with this review. While certainly having 21st century technology and polish, SOTU has the feeling of DM actually hopping into a time machine, travelling back to the New Wave era of 1982-84, taking the recording equipment from the studios that existed at that time, bringing it back to 2009-10 and into today's studio and using that recording technology in addition and "Sounds of the Universe".

Some of the harder edged styles are maintained on "Hole to Feed" as well as the grating (not in a bad way) turbulence of "Come Back". Even then, they are a far distant cry from anything on "Playing The Angel" or "Violator".

On the other side of the coin, "Peace", "Perfect" and "Corrupt" are easy fits for the 1983-ish era. "Peace" is an experimental trip back to the early 80s with 21st century polish in every way, including even the rhythm. "Perfect" is the same way too. "Corrupt" could almost have been recorded in 1982. All of them are great songs. Other favorites are "In Sympathy" and "Fragile Tension" which are a class of their own.

Many fans of "Violator", "Ultra", or "Playing The Angel" will likely find this album to be a change of seasons or a disappointment but not me. I happen to be a much of a fan of their pre-1984 era as I am of post 1985 DM and on rare occasions enjoy "Broken Frame" even more than "Violator" or "Ultra". A lot of post 1989-DM fans are not going to like SOTU a whole lot or should expect a completely different sound but for me, as a fan of the lighter DM of early days, it is a real treat to hear this long forgotten side of Depeche Mode. It took a while for me to to sink in but "Sounds of The Universe" is once again another landmark chapter in Depeche Mode's history. Highly Recommended. .

Not much 'wrong' here.

'Playing The Angel' was far from perfect even though it had some great tracks. After all the hoopla over 'Playing The Angel' I'm really don't understand why more people aren't appreciating 'Sounds Of The Universe'. The euphoria around that release seemed to hinge on the fact that the band had put out a more electronic collection that their previous, recent efforts. SOTU is, if anything even more electronic sounding but with an ingenious use of retro keyboard sounds polished by modern production techniques. So, clearly, just sounding electronic isn't going to help people enjoy these songs even if that's what was apparently the draw last time.

SOTU is a more complete album than 'Playing The Angel', for the most part the song writing is as good as ever and the production is excellent. There is no need to change producers or bring back Alan Wilder. The sound of the record recalls classic, early Depeche Mode.

One thing that has bemused me has been the choice of singles released from SOTU. 'Wrong' is in my opinion one of the less interesting tracks here and so is 'Peace'. The accompanying videos for these songs were baffling - who needs to see disturbing violence in a music video? Yet the video for 'Wrong' is up for an award, so what do I know? The third single release, the Dave Gahan penned 'Hole To Feed' is the first single release that is more representative of the album as a whole.

Once again, the freeware program 'Audacity' came in useful for chopping off the first minute and a half of 'In Chains' and the end of 'Corrupt' - minutes of forgettable 'drama' that ultimately detract from two otherwise great tracks. Less is more.

I do have to say, that the first couple of times that I listened to these songs I was deeply disappointed but with repeated listens this album does reveal its considerable gifts.

DEcent but not awesome.
There are three songs on this album. I love DEpeche Mode. . . "WRONG", "Peace", and "Sympathy" that are just wicked cool Depeche Mode synthpop songs that we've all grown tp love about this historical new wave band. Sadly, the rest of the album is kinda experimental twacky electronica. . . and it's just way to slow and boaring to really keep my attention without making me feel like skipping tracks. Not a great album, but there are three wonderful songs wedged inbetween all of the fluff.

Another Solid DM Album
I'm a big DM fan, but I listened to "Sounds of the Universe" with no expectations and enjoyed it very much. I know not to listen to a new album expecting to hear the same album as before. It's not their best, but not bad at all. Another solid, unique album worth my time and money. Thanks, Depeche.

You can see a complete list of all Depeche Mode discography, or go back to the Depeche Mode tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.