Depeche Mode

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Seeing as I've never actually listened to a depeche mode album in full, I should cobbler the new one and see if it makes JT have a stroke.


Or I can just give songs of faith and devotion another try--which is actually what I've been doing for the past four songs. Something clicked about halfway through "walking in my shoes," and I get it now. This is actually good, and actually sounds pretty fucking awesome now that I'm not a zombie like I was when it put me to sleep last time.
 
It's crazy what happens when I actually get some sleep.

People are People is still a godawful song, though.
 
OpenG180 said:
It really sounds thin. Damn... I had high hopes...
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I feel like we listened to different albums. This is probably the most impressed I've been with a DM album since Ultra. I really like how many of the tunes seem inspired by Rush/In Your Room.
 
mikal said:
I feel like we listened to different albums. This is probably the most impressed I've been with a DM album since Ultra. I really like how many of the tunes seem inspired by Rush/In Your Room.
Click to expand...

I feel that too. I love Ultra (probably my 2nd fave after Violator) and i'm not feeling this album.
 
been a fan for a long time now- but they're output post SOFAD has gone from good- some of Ultra through great- about 60% of Playing the Angel to utter turd- 95% of Exciter and all of Songs of the Universe

with Delta Machine we get the whole spectrum on one album- the good- Welcome to my world (or Pink Floyds's Welcome to the Machine), Broken, Angel, Secret to the End, the great- Soothe My Soul and the terrible- Slow, Little Universe, Child Inside, Should be Higher and the kinda meh- Heaven and Alone

I like the retro 80's synths- but the songs aren't quite there- and although I can't say this at the DM forum- as ever I still believe they need Alan Wilder to finish the songs properly- overall it's a 5/10 effort

but tomorrow morning I'll be playing the Hurts album on the way to work instead
 
I like Secret To The End too.

But i found another thing that's bothering me: the crescendo is passing for a chorus in many of these songs. It should lead to the chorus, not be the chorus.

Many songs lose steam after the middle and they basically go nowhere.

And the album is very long. It should have been a 10 songs album.
 
OpenG180 said:
I like Secret To The End too.

But i found another thing that's bothering me: the crescendo is passing for a chorus in many of these songs. It should lead to the chorus, not be the chorus.

Many songs lose steam after the middle and they basically go nowhere.

And the album is very long. It should have been a 10 songs album.
Click to expand...

sgreed- I've already deleted 5 tracks from playlist- that get's it down to 40mins

don't see this album working well on the tour- it's all slow paced with little or no chorus- good news for the bars though!
 
Have mixed feelings, most of the songs they played live , (Angel, Higher, Soothe, ST/RN)
Are great songs for live performance. Still have to listen to the album as a whole.
Higher is the stand out track for me by far. Lyrics are fucking g creepily great.
A true DM song. ST/RN seems to be one of Dave's punky-ish thinner songs. Just an uptempo no brainer for me. Angel and Soothe are lovely.
Loved Angel from the first time I heard it , and it doesn't seem to be fading at all.

Need to listen to the rest of the album now. I'm only judging this on the Letterman performance.


Pumped that they have a small EU winter leg after the US leg,
and that they are attending Amsterdam's new Ziggo Dome.
Sound in there is crisp clear, and it feels like an intimate club when inside (even though its an arena)
 
Just heard it. Definitely a grower methinks. Out of the post-Alan Wilder era, it's leagues ahead of Exciter and Sounds of the Universe, about on par with Playing the Angel, but doesn't have the dark enchantment of Ultra. It always amuses me when people dismiss an album after one listen (I'm not taking aim at anyone here) but I never fully appraise an album until after several months.
 
lemonfly said:
It always amuses me when people dismiss an album after one listen
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I'd say the same thing about a person ranking an album after only one listen :shrug: I mean, you've pretty much done exactly what OG and I did, only with the opposite opinion

After several more run throughs, my opinion remains. A few of the songs have revealed themselves a bit, but overall it's not very strong.
 
Not sure where I'd rate Delta Machine at this point, but I'm really enjoying that last stretch from Soft Touch/Raw Nerve to Goodbye. Welcome to My World and Angel are also solid tracks. The middle of the album is kind of boring. Nothing on here as strong as 'Wrong' or 'Peace', however.

I'll give it a few more listens.
 
The 3 best songs are all Gahan's babies: secret to the end, broken and should be higher...
 
OpenG180 said:
The 3 best songs are all Gahan's babies: secret to the end, broken and should be higher...
Click to expand...

What? Those are all Dave's songs?? I had no idea. They all, apart from Should be Higher, have such a distinct Martin sound (Broken in particular sounds like it would fit on Black Celebration or Music for the Masses). My favourite 3 too. Are Angel and Raw Nerve not Daves? The hacky lyrics and overall ham fistedness had me thinking so for sure.

Fuck, new respect to Gahan for songwriting abilities
 
Damn, just looked it up. Those are Dave's only 3 on the album. Good for him. I was going to come post a snarky post yesterday about how obvious his songs are. So wrong
 
You can watch the full SXSW set here:

Yahoo!

Looks like its pretty much the same (short) setlist as the Letterman performance, with the addition of "Only When I Lose Myself".
 
I get the feeling this one is a grower. Highlights for me on first listen were Angel, Heaven (which sounds much better in context), and Alone. The MVP has got to be Dave - his vocals just continue to get more evocative and nuanced on each album. I think I agree with DB that the middle could have been trimmed a bit, though.
 
I'd cut out Slow and Child Inside. That would make for a less saggy album.

I also feel like Angel and Raw Nerve need a lot of work. The lyrics are horrendous and they just feel thrown together. They have great elements, but feel half baked. I do like when the timing of Angel changes in the middle however.
 
Jive Turkey said:
I'd cut out Slow and Child Inside. That would make for a less saggy album.

I also feel like Angel and Raw Nerve need a lot of work. The lyrics are horrendous and they just feel thrown together. They have great elements, but feel half baked. I do like when the timing of Angel changes in the middle however.
Click to expand...

I'd cut those 2 too. And substitute for All That's Mine and Happens All The Time (if the album must had the same number of tracks).
 
Pitchfork has never held DM in high regard, which is odd considering the adulation they throw at New Order.
 
I'm sorry, but I have to say that I COMPLETELY agree with this part of the review:

"But they stopped pushing forward long ago, and now they don't even bother pretending technology has opened up any possibilities for recorded sound in the past 20 years. Now they're just extruding a new album once in a while, reconfiguring the grooves and keywords of the albums from the period when they were a force in pop, without the push toward new noises and uncertain feelings that made that music powerful. There is not a single moment of shock or freshness on Delta Machine, and it's enormously frustrating to hear what was once a band of futurists so deeply mired in resisting change."
 
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