Depeche Mode's New Album: A Review

Think of Depeche Mode's new album Sounds of the Universe as the kind of thing you can carry anywhere and with any 'outfit.'

I am absolutely loving it because while it feels very 'now' and as hyper-modern as time allows, it is, at the core, staunchly Depeche Mode. Dave Gahan and company have a thing or two to teach younger musicians about creativity, musical relevance, and reinvention: These things happen if the artists know themselves and willingly surpass their limitations. This is the king of album that allows you to do your work, take care of quotidianity, run menial errands, read the paper and so forth, and feel well fed musically.

I had been looking forward to Depeche Mode's new project as they have been a favorite since I was teenager. Granted, as a teenager, I didn't give them the kind of lip service they deserved because, well, the cool thing to do was lavish Metallica with attention. Adolescence is cruel, no doubt.

The tracks I am enjoying the most are:

1)Peace
2) Wrong
3) Hole to Feed
and
4) Miles Away

So, if synthpop and/or electronica/indie is the kind of musical direction that tickles your fancy, do consider Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe. And I sign off as I listen to Miles Away.

Also, for those of you who enjoy things German, here's a German commercial featuring Depeche Mode.

 Subscribe to HetPer

 Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast

graph per wiki

Brandon Flowers and Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan

Black Book Magazine has a gripping bit on The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers and Depeche Mode's main guy Dave Gahan. It tackles both artists' unique performance styles, overall artistry, respective religions, music/lyrics choices, and much more.

Those of you who like Depeche Mode, will especially react well to this piece as it places much attention on the music of Depeche Mode and how much they have influenced so many new acts.

A bit says:

"Adorable and grandiose, Killers frontman Brandon Flowers maintains a contradiction that matches any to which Depeche Mode can lay claim: he is a resolute Mormon, a religion not exactly known for turning out glamorous rock ’n’ rollers. Gahan’s only significant rival in the rock-star-as-Christ-figure stakes is probably Bono. But while Dublin’s finest unwaveringly professes his faith in the only Son of God, Gahan, especially in the lyrics to the deliciously blaspheming “Personal Jesus” (“Someone to hear your prayers / Someone who cares”), has offered himself up as an earthly substitute, a heresy you surely won’t find any of his worshipping public objecting to, no matter their religious affiliations."

Read more here.

 Subscribe to HetPer

 Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast