I did not expect too much from this album. Bearing in mind how good Playing the Angel was, I figured they might not be able to maintain such a high standard. There is a lot of quality synthpop around at the moment with the likes of Royksopp, Client, the Pet Shop Boys are back on form and even Lily Allen is getting in on the act. However, the old masters Depeche Mode have left them all for dead again.
The single "Wrong" was promising but Sounds of the Universe has turned out to be 13 tracks of sheer joy. Shameless use of nasty analogue synth sounds (even for more so than previous albums) throughout, in some cases reminiscent of Switched On Bach and even the good old Commodore 64. Equally shameless vintage beatbox rhythms keep the album chugging along; more upbeat than Playing the Angel but no less soulful.
Some reviews stated that the second half is weak - don't believe it. "Perfect" is one of the best songs I've heard in years and the eery, haunting "Jezebel" is stuck in my… more »

I did not expect too much from this album. Bearing in mind how good Playing the Angel was, I figured they might not be able to maintain such a high standard. There is a lot of quality synthpop around at the moment with the likes of Royksopp, Client, the Pet Shop Boys are back on form and even Lily Allen is getting in on the act. However, the old masters Depeche Mode have left them all for dead again.
The single "Wrong" was promising but Sounds of the Universe has turned out to be 13 tracks of sheer joy. Shameless use of nasty analogue synth sounds (even for more so than previous albums) throughout, in some cases reminiscent of Switched On Bach and even the good old Commodore 64. Equally shameless vintage beatbox rhythms keep the album chugging along; more upbeat than Playing the Angel but no less soulful.
Some reviews stated that the second half is weak - don't believe it. "Perfect" is one of the best songs I've heard in years and the eery, haunting "Jezebel" is stuck in my head and I can't get it out (incredible vocal from Martin Gore there).
Despite being almost 30 years into their career Depeche Mode have developed an new sound for themselves, even more electronic than before (if that were possible). For me, this is an instant classic. Depeche Mode are gods.