Depeche Mode – Delta Machine

Dubbed as the most successful electronic band in music history and having had twelve top ten albums in the UK charts, 80s pop band Depeche Mode are back once again to take the world by storm with their latest album Delta Machine. 

The opening track of the band’s thirteenth studio release, Welcome to My World, features the dark, sensual lyrics “If you stay a while I’ll penetrate your soul, I’ll bleed in to your dreams” and modern-sounding dub beats.

You wouldn’t think this was a band who had their “hey-day” in the 80s. The band’s sound is timeless because of their ability to evolve and adapt with modern technology, and the great thing about this album is that it appeals to the loyal fans as well as new listeners. 

David Gahan’s sultry baritone voice, the recognisable trademark of Depeche Mode, seduces the listener as he growls “The angel of love is upon me”. The album’s first single, Heaven, is a slower romantic song with bluesy electric guitar chords sounding over the beat, together with strange, alien sounds produced through electronic manipulation.

With beats distorted by bit-crushers, phasers and various amp effects, Depeche Mode are still incredibly cool. The entire album is a DJ’s dream and holds great potential for remixes. 

In Secret to the End, Gahan’s voice, pained by passion, pulls on the listener’s heartstrings with relatable post break-up lyrics: “Did I disappoint you? I wanted to believe. Our book of love was not enough to see us through.”

Depeche Mode have proved that more than thirty years on they’ve still got it, setting the bar for modern electronic bands of today: Delta Machine is sure to be an album that fans old and new just can’t get enough of. 

Gemma Whitfield 

Delta Machine is released on 22^nd March 2013. 

Watch the video for Heaven here: