Depeche Mode - Delta Machine - Review

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Depeche Mode - Delta Machine

(r) 03/26/2013

I am no stranger to Depeche Mode, I've been acutely aware of each release since 1987's Music For The Masses. I can tell you sometimes each album has had a like it or not experience.

I can tell you that the newest offering Delta Machine straddles do not like. Since their Playing the Angel record which I liked a lot, this one has moments, but like their last Sounds Of the Universe offering I'm kind of missing what Depeche Mode is doing at this stage.

Album number 13, and I am somewhat unsure of the direction they want to head towards, because I feel this is like their Exciter record in many ways trying out new ideas, but often I think they are just going through the motions.

Yes they've modernized their tricks, and though no one sounds like Depeche Mode, the one thing is very clear, either you like what they do, or you don't. With a worldwide fan base who've been pretty receptive to what they are doing, I've been an outsider looking in and observing.

In tow is Dave Gahn, Martin L Gore, and Andrew Fletcher. With some of the modern studio trickery, the mixes seem more digital, yet this is fooling you because of the crisp analog production. I haven't really been as impressed with the new crop of bands using the digital form because of how hollow the production feels. Delta Machine gives me as a listener a very polished and contemporary feel, but it also is appealing to a younger audience tempted by a lot of the trashy club scene material.

Delta Machine upon first listen feels cold, unsure, and straddles modes of club/euro scene that somewhat has seen a resurgence with the likes of La Roux, Lady Gaga, Tegan and Sara, and a few others with the collaborative hip hop artist scene. I've become tired of this idiom because how blatant this standard is currently.

To tell you the truth, I would be more interested if I wasn't so burnt out on this trend. Part of my feeling stems from my dislike of the cold lifeless sound (digital). I've often been considerate of other styles and opinions, but I am of a peculiar flair. A lot of today's of pop music annoys me, partly because of  how quickly it saturates, and then rinse repeat.

I feel as though Delta Machine is trying to give the fans a modernistic vibe without trying to give a lot of brevity to the currency of short attention spans. Averaging an album every four years, I think Depeche Mode have earned the right to do what they want without care. Yet I think there is going to come a time when age and impermanence will start to dictate with how the youth sees this band. I don't care either way, but it will be interesting to see what happens in a few years. But, I will say I will return to this with a less of a hardened exposure to the current crop of imitators. Thanks for reading.

B.