He's A Smooth Operator

Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel
Mute Records, 2005



Very few bands stay together for longer than 25 years. Some do, however. U2 does. Rolling Stones has. Oasis probably won't. When a band do stay alive and kicking for 25+ years this means one of two things. Either the air and creativity died years ago and the band is releasing records devoid of any artistic intention - if there is such intentions however, then it's horribly misguided into thoughts of "going back to the old days"-nostalgia and the result very smelly.

However, it could also mean that even after 25 years of records, tours, b-sides, fighting, divorces and hallucogenic drugs there is still gold in the mineshaft of musical creativity (I love my metaphors). Such seems to be the case with Depeche Mode, despite what you might think.

I didn't like Exciter. It had a few decent tracks but overall it felt uninspired, tiring and boring. You could feel that this was not so much a band as three people going into a studio - most likely seperate from each other - doing their everyday thing and then leaving. No heart, no soul and a mediocre album to show for it. After that a crappy tour and then silence. Dave Gahan released an equally shitty solo album, Martin Gore did a slightly better album and Fletch hasn't really been doing anything so it's hasn't been much change of pace for him.

However, five years after Exciter comes a brand new bag of fun from the british trio. Playing The Angel is not a brave new world of electronic music, but it's a new deck of cards in the hands of Depeche Mode. I can't help but thinking about when you first listen to Songs Of Faith & Devotion and the brilliant, scratching first guitar riff of "I Feel You" explodes onto your ears. The exact same procedure this time around. This time the song is called "A Pain I'm Used To" but the message is the same. The message: This isn't ust any bunch of amateurs. This is Depeche-fucking-Mode.

And it is. It most certainly is. But things aren't always what they used to be. It's very much a rough album, much like said SOFAD. The entire album has a very dark tone, almost Nine Inch Nails-like at times. You want a comparison? The first single "Precious" is the most upbeat song on the album. The rough edge ads a new dimension to the usual DM-sound. There are however no real hits, at least not after a few listens. No "Everything Counts" or "It's No Good", and somehow this could well be a concious decision. No anthems, but a pile of good songs. Nobody can deny the intensity of "John The Revelator", the beautiful (Gore-sung) "Macro" or the Gahan-written pearl "Suffer Well".

As an album this is a perfect product. It's a work that's bigger than the sum of it's contents which is of course a very good thing. PTA has a mood, a very special mood. It's dark blue compared to the greyish green that was Exciter, and everyone is thankful for it. But call my old-fashioned and crazy but I miss the old anthems. It would be nice to have a song to hum. Some chorus to have on my mind when I'm not listening. But of course, this is only a minor defect in this steel-enhanced battlecruiser. It's a fine piece of musical craftmansship, and it should be considered their greatest work in a long time.

But I do miss the humming.

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