Delta Machine

Depeche Mode's 13th studio album is not an instant classic. When I first heard the single Angel I was left a little cold. I went back and listened to it again and then found myself humming it soon after. That's how this album works. Not on first listen, but slowly and stealthily it works it way into your head.

It starts slowly with the opening trio of Welcome To My World (slow build with a dirty fat beat), Angel (one of the standout tracks and a real slow burning masterpiece) and Heaven (slow and maudlin it is almost a funeral dirge - I am still not loving this track yet). On first listen I almost screamed 'up the tempo' as it is a slow start, but they are real growers of tracks. And actually the tracks all work like this, a steadily layering of beats, guitar (way back in the mix mostly), synths that gradually allow tracks to reach their chorus before hooking you. My Little Universe is a great example of this. It starts off sounding like something off one of the synth albums that have been released over the past two years (think Daphnii or similar). It then layers Gahan's vocals and more synth on top before Gore joins in and the chorus breaks into electric noise and more layering. Eventually you reach the crescendo of noise which unleashes. There is evidence here of them listening to those who they have influenced and then borrowing back - to great effect. Soft Touch/Raw Nerve is a great stomping number that will go down very well live. It sounds a bit like Question of Time though. Alone is a rumbling brute of a track that works really well and is a throwback to the decade that they started in whilst sounding very much up to date. Soothe My Soul is an absolute masterpiece of a track with a great refrain and has guitars (one of the few tracks pushing them ahead of the mix) and drums that stomp and pulse in the chorus.

Depeche Mode are now an album band more than a singles one. This is proof of that. It won't win over any new converts, may alienate the casual listener on first listen as well. But give it a chance and you will be loving it.

After the disappointment that was Depeche's last album Sounds of the Universe, an album I cannot listen thru having to shunt thru 70% of the tracks, I was wary of any future offering from the band, esp given that Ben Hillier was still on production duties. This was somewhat alleviated by Flood, whom produced Violator, their best album and Songs of Faith and Devotion twenty years ago, on mixing duties. In fact Flood's participation gave me alot of hope, esp after I heard Angel and the first single Heaven, even tho I was told Heaven is not really an example of what makes up the rest of Delta Machine. Then just before release of the album, Soothe My Soul was released on you tube as a video (possibly to spark more interest for the album, esp in America), and this track really settle it for me that the band were back where they belonged in their element.

Upon finally receiving the album thru my door, I was not to be disappointed. There are several very strong tracks on this album from the minimal starter Welcome to My World thru to Broken which to me bring thirty years of DM canon crashing aurally around my ears causing a surge of sadness and nostalgic endorphins all at once. I must say I have had this track on repeat quite alot. Dave just sounds so... different, like some kind of slithering soulman, his voice grates, in the good way and intermixes so well with those delta blues guitar riffs juxtaposed with DM's trademark electronica. Martin is on top form on the one main album track he leads The Child Inside (thankfully he sings a second track on cd2 of the Deluxe Edition as well),

When I can listen to an album all the way thru again and again, each listen, without skipping thru any of the tracks, then i know I'm on to a good thing. This album Delta Machine lives up to all of the usual hype and out performs that hype threefold. Definately worth getting and makes up for the near disaster that was Sounds of the Universe.

With Depeche Mode, you are greedy...you always want more. You literally just can't get enough can you. My deluxe "book set" album arrived via Amazon today.....

Delta Machine is radical, dark and with deep biosynthesized tones and melodies, the religious reflections and the pain ...flow...... Gahan adds a different and dark dimension and compliments Martins artistry and incredible genius of writing.. Opening tracks are brilliant, is Heaven my fav? or the opening 3? Hard to choose.

SECRET TO THE END really thumps it out for example.

All the sounds are crisp and clear, a trip back to Black Celebration with Modern power and technolgy. Some of the Album is "Playing the Angel..." style. But refreshing. Gahan and Gore appear much more of a partnership in the vocals. Fletch appears to have been let "loose" on the depth of the synth action.( or am I wishful?)

SLOW is Violator like, with a kinda Route 66 type guitar. Quite jazzy.

Gahans iron like vocals continue to mesmerise and draw you on... How much talent has it he got...(I can think of no-one that currently or in last 20 years who has his range and depth)

Martin Gore chooses "The Child Inside" as his traditional Ballad, crisp and sharp and totally DM, Very "Judas" very "home" quality. Very surreal.

SOFT TOUCH/RAW NERVE, a surely chartable track (if someone played it on the wireless) Its catchy and booming and more modern than Swedish house mafia.

The bass on "Should be higher" will test you Linn Speakers to the limit and will blast your dry lining.... You will need a Victorian house to play this at volume. Bass Depth is amazing! Again i reckon very marketable track..... if they played it.

The album is a triumph. You judge it for yourself. Better than SOU I feel. Right up there.

ULTRA level at least....and on 1 listen.

There's only way to soothe my soul....

Goodbye? I'm Greedy . I hope not

As the title suggests, this is by far a lot better than any recent Depeche Mode album. I cannot see how it could be rated 5 stars, as that would put it up there with the best DM albums, such as Black Celebration and Songs of faith and Devotion, but it's a step in the right direction.

The album starts slowly, but picks up around the 4th song 'Secret to the end' and starts to get better. The main reason for this is that they seem to be writing songs with tunes/melodies again, rather than sharp noises (which seemed to coincide with Alan Wilder leaving - Please come back!). Soft Touch/Raw Nerve is back to their best and this continues all the way to Soothe my Soul, which is another great track. The 2nd half of the album is their strongest for years and hopefully this may continue in their next album.

Any fans who may have deserted them over the years, I'd say to give them another chance. Also saw them live last week at the O2 and they were brilliant as usual.

OK Massive DM fan, Violator one of my most favourite albums, but I love loads of other music from that time. Since then DM have produced consistently good stuff and so I have kept faithful (having fallen off the U2, Prince and even Springsteen wagon) and purchased everything since Violator, when Heaven single came out last week had to buy despite pre- ordering album as well (iTunes Ok at 2.99 with three remixes). So I was pretty excited about album today(Amazon £11.99 Deluxe) OK, now forget any negative reviews, by now you should know whether or not you like DM. If you have liked any DM stuff you will love this it is a gift to the fans. Artistically a perfect 10. Deluxe CD packaging awesome, great title duplicating the DM. Track sequence really been thought out, amazing sophisticated music with references to previous DM hooks, album has a jazzy edge but at the same time so polished and deliberate. Three tracks in and I was hooked, but scared that they would start to fall off, how wrong, they kept going with favourite track after new favourite track right up to the end. Why Deluxe? Because extra tracks are great but as mentioned the album is meant to be listened to as a good old album track by track and flows beautifully as it is and had to finish with Goodbye.

In summary this is a gift to fans- as a fan - cheers guy's-for me this is the best album in the last 13 yrs. (i.e 21st century) So I doubt I will hear anything better this year (but can't wait for new Emika and Wild Beasts albums); as usual I am sure DM will be ignored when the awards are handed out; but when you are on top of your game like this you don't give a...

1 star reviews for this there having a laugh. If you are expecting poppy Just Can't Get Enough from days back then then forget this as its not for you. I grew up with Mode as a child saw them live just after New Life and like them i have moved with the times. The poppy songs from earlier albums have gone but Martin has matured and the songs on Delta Machine in the main are fantastic. Dave's voice is stronger without a doubt than any previous recordings and I guess Fletch still only plays with one finger. Do u want an album full of 3 min sing alongs cos I don't? The songs are not typical Mode from the last few albums. The old Emulator samples have gone and they have discovered a new machine in analogue modulars. Experimental yes. Presets no. Everything has to be thought out before putting to tape (or Pro Tools) if you are into analogue u will love this, weird bleeps, warmth the lot. The acoustic drums have almost gone surfacing on just a couple of tracks.

I have listened to the album for just over a week now only on IPod. It grows and grows. As every album you are not gonna get a full one of classic tracks and I ain't gonna review every song but Heaven is one if the most emotive songs written by anyone in the last 10 years And Should Be Higher on first listening sent shivers down my spine. Say no more. If you don't like this you come from Pluto.

Not seen them live since Violator tour but just got a ticket for the added date in Leeds. Bring it on!

For a long time fan, a new release is always greeted with nervous anticipation, wondering how it will compare with their previous work.

For me this is very much up there.

The previous few releases have taken time to get into, and had too many tracks I happily skipped past .

Delta Machine was immediate. I loved it from the beginning of the opening track. I bought the deluxe edition with 4 bonus tracks on a separate disc, and while I've listened to this less than disc 1 it was well worth the couple of quid extra, in fact a couple on there would have been worth inclusion on the main album.

I know 5 stars suggests perfection, but 4 stars didn't seem enough and 4 1/2 aren't possible.

Being perfectly honest there are two tracks on there I usually don't bother with and would relegate to either the bonus disc to be replaced by the better 2 or 3 on there, or possibly single b-sides in place of the seemingly endless re-mixes of the single (although I appreciate a lot of people enjoy the different re-interpretations of the singles)

The tracks in question are the Martin Gore sung, 'the child inside'

( his other lead vocal song on disc 2 is much better in my opinion)

& 'my little universe.

Although I'm finding of late, I can't seem to get the chorus of 'my little universe' out of my head so maybe I should give it more of a chance.

Overall though these are far outweighed by the albums positives.

Obviously something like music is very subjective and personal, so this won't be to everyone's taste, even some DM fans on their forum weren't overly impressed, albeit a minority.

But for me it's a very impressive album and one I regularly play again and again as soon as it's finished.

OK, so I've been listening to DM for many many years and got hooked on them after 101. But personally, I don't think they've made a great album since Songs of Faith and Devotion. Fair enough they have done some good tracks on various albums, but nothing that would make you play over and over.

So, its with this album that I have lost faith with DM and I probably won't buy any more of their future albums -- as a loyal follower, I won't give up the faith, but I don't hold much hope. This one will be shelved for now and shall dig out in a couple of weeks time with the hope that it'll grow on me.

If you are a DM fan, you will buy this album regardless of the reviews people have written, but my advice is don't expect a great album -- average would sum it up.

1980年、イギリスはバジルドンで結成されたエレクトロニックバンド、DEPECHE MODEが2013年にリリースした13thアルバム。

毎度の通り4年経ったのでいよいよ新譜が出るらしく、今一度聞き返してみたのだがやはり良い。

電子音なのに有機的な温もりのようなモノを感じる彼らの作品は本当に不思議な魅力に満ちている。

アナログシンセサイザーを基調としたシンセポップに艶やかで生々しいDave Gahanのヴォーカルが乗り、Martin Goreの奏でるブルージーなギターフレーズ、そしてポップでありつつも重々しい空気感や陰りのある楽曲が合わさると彼らにしか成し得ない独特な世界観が形成される。

結成から33年目に発表された本作はこれまでの作品で見せたアプローチを（おそらく意図的に）再利用してキャリアの中期あたりまでを振り返るような楽曲を作りつつ、やたらブルージーなスローバラードや彼らには珍しいけたたましいシンセ音の連打から始まるテンポの良い楽曲、バリトンのDaveにしては高めのキーを使う楽曲など、懐かしくも新しい音楽性になっていてとても聴き応えがある。

また、全体的な雰囲気として宇宙を感じるような神秘的で深遠、そして漂うような浮遊感のある曲が多かった前作に比べ、本作はより落ち着いた渋みのある楽曲が増えいくらか楽曲から感じるスケールは小さくなったような気がする。

しかしそれはネガティヴな意見ではなく、例えるなら壮大な宇宙を表現した作品から個である人間の内面にスポットを当てて深く深く掘り下げていったようなイメージだろうか。そんな空気感を本作から感じるのだ。

全体を通してバラエティに富んだ楽曲が揃っており、個人的にはDEPECHE MODEの作品の中でも傑作に入るアルバムだと思う。

メンバーも全員50を越え、ネタも切れそうなベテランもベテランの域に入っているが本作も相変わらず素晴らしい出来だ。4年待たされた期待に十分応えられる内容だといえるろう。

ポップな曲もあるが基本的には暗く地味な作風のバンド故、派手でライトな音楽が好きな方にはかったるいかもしれないが多くのアーティストに影響を与えた大衆性と実験性が混ざり合った彼らの音楽は気に入る人には深く染みいることだろう。いよいよ発売の迫った新譜が待ち遠しい。

なお、初回盤にはブックレットと本編未収録曲4曲入りのボーナスディスクが付いてくる。こちらもオススメだ。

Superbe

This audio cd comes in a paper case. Audio quality itself is good.

Nice act work and great sound