Depeche Mode... on song and focussed

Inspired by their recent outing on Jools Holland's show I've both purchased their new album Sounds of the Universe and been listening to the Singles... collection on permanent rotate. I've dropped in and out of their radar over the past decade, and was so disappointed by Exciter that I've ignored them for a while, so I'm no authority on the erm.. modern Mode. To my ear though, Sounds displays a more laid-back Mode, at home in their skin with nothing to prove to the wider world.

On Jools they performed two songs from the new album - the (almost) catchy, first single "Wrong", and the ballad-like "In Chains", possibly the two best from the album. What strikes me is the craft involved in this record, particularly in Gahan's singing. They've clearly taken their time with this, comfortable enough with each other for the songwriting and recording to not become fraught. There's a clarity in every element, and there's space for subtlety, and, significantly, there's a variety to the textures too.

Whereas Exciter suffered for a lack of melody, sounding forced and flat, Sounds... bears repeated listening. Don't expect any big, industrial, dance anthems - the Mode have handed down that mantle to the more 21st century likes of MGMT (et al).