Asif Khan Inc.

Sounds of the Universe – Depeche Mode

Rich. Dark. No, this isn’t part of a matrimonial advert. Those are two adjectives which should sum up most of what Depeche Mode’s sound has stood for all these years. Pioneers in the synth electro sound, influences of which may be seen everywhere now, they have had a strong bias towards material which was moodily melancholic. The funny part though is that after all these years; they still haven’t changed their mood (which is good). It’s just that the sentiment has developed a richness which only time can inject successfully. ‘Sounds of the Universe’ embodies a spirit which is more somber and lower key than any of the predecessors like ‘Violator’ and ‘Playing the Angel’. This doesn’t hit you hard when you listen to it the first time. You may probably even try to skip forward a few tracks while you are at the first couple of songs. Talk to anyone about this album once you are through with maybe two or three (depending on your musical comprehension capabilities). Its one of those works which take time to hook themselves on you. You don’t have the instant high as snorted coke or shot up heroin on this. Rather a nice devious pleasant high which is provided by the likes of cannabis.

David Gahan (yes, he is still alive after all those years of self afflicted mental torture) gets back into the studio with Martin Gore to produce an album with Ben Hillier which signifies a return to the retro sound which made them what they are today. ‘Wrong’, with its superbly twisted style of interlocking melodies together, and falsetto vocals by Gahan is an excellent starter which does have the tendency to spook you out. Especially if you watch the video of the bound gagged passenger in a car running backwards, this serves to heighten the level of eeriness. Fuzz is present in abundance. Whether it is the bass driven opening of ‘Peace’, the vocals of Gore on ‘Jezebel’ or the harmonizing of both players throughout the album, that rare fuzz which used to be staple on 80s electronic records, can be found everywhere. And like the maturing of their mood with time, so have Gahan’s vocals been lent with a quality which shines through on the tracks like ‘In Sympathy’.

This maybe one of their last works, as they fast approach their twilight (after all they have been together for a good thirty years now), but this album is going to make sure they are always remembered best, as a concoction of rich and dark.