{"id":39578,"date":"2005-12-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-12-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/playing-the-angel\/"},"modified":"2005-12-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-12-22T00:00:00","slug":"playing-the-angel","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/playing-the-angel\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing The Angel"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The kind of blind affection that Playing The
\nAngel<\/i> is being received with has got to do with the fact that
\nthis album comes after Depeche Mode’s four-year absence and a lot
\nof uncertainties regarding the band’s stability. This affection is
\nthe kind that stems from the feeling of gratitude that the band has
\nreleased an album at all, even if it’s not a great one.<\/p>\n

So is this love warranted? Not all of it. After the
\nunanimously unpopular minimalist-sounding Exciter<\/i>, the
\nfollow up record was “hyped” to be DM’s return to the darker and
\nbrawnier sound. Though with Angel<\/i> the band has made an
\nattempt to resurrect the bleakness of its pre-Exciter<\/i>
\nglory-days, it doesn’t quite reach the desired results, and the
\nalbum sounds choppy at times. A part of the reason for this is that
\nthe band has still not gotten itself fully out of Exciter<\/i>
\nmode.<\/p>\n

Exciter<\/i> was DM’s experimentation with
\nminimalism, a new venture for the band that was a hit-and-miss in
\nsome ways. Still, the album was consistent in its laid-back style,
\nwhich gave it a distinct mood and a sense of uniqueness, though it
\ndid end up sounding incomplete. However, with Playing The
\nAngel<\/i>, DM tries to fight this, and this struggle against the
\ngroup’s natural tendency results in an album that lacks the
\ncohesiveness of most of their other records.<\/p>\n

A case in point is the opening track, “A Pain That
\nI’m Used To.” This track blasts off at the very go with a harrowing
\nguitar riff matching the distraught meaty feel of Ultra’s “Barrel
\nOf A Gun.” But, soon after the riff leads to the first verse, the
\nsong transforms into a bareness that cancels out the grandiose
\nintro completely, making the track far less potent than it ought to
\nhave been. Also, after its mere two verses and two choruses, this
\ncut fails to develop further, and ends unexpectedly for lack of
\nideas.<\/p>\n

The same is the case with “John The Revelator” and
\n“Suffer Well,” which are reminiscent of the ones from the
\nless-industrial Violator<\/i> days, and are absolutely brilliant.
\nBut they lack further development of ideas and end too early,
\nsounding incomplete.<\/p>\n

However, the battles in the fight to move against the
\nirresistible forces of Exciter<\/i> are won gloriously on “The
\nSinner In Me,” “Precious,” “I Want It All,” “Nothing’s Impossible,”
\nand “Lillian.” The band re-invents the sound of Violator<\/i> on
\nthese numbers with help from the lessons learned in the fine art of
\n“industrial” bleakness from Songs Of Faith And Devotion<\/i> and
\nUltra<\/i>, and does an amazing job at it. “The Sinner In Me” and
\n“Nothing’s Impossible” tend towards the heavier sound of Faith and
\nUltra, “Precious” and “Lillian” resemble the straight-ahead
\npoignant-pop classiness of “Enjoy The Silence,” and “I Want It All”
\nreflects the moody arousing effect of “Waiting For The Night.”<\/p>\n

Though Angel<\/i> seems to be musically deficient
\nin places, the songwriting, as always, is near perfect. Martin
\nGore’s lyrical ability, even after 25 years, is still as sharp and
\nimpacting as ever. Gore’s imaginative interpretation of pain is
\nstill as fired up, and so is his clever wordplay, something which
\nhas always been a unique feature of his songs.<\/p>\n

Angel<\/i> marks the debut of Dave Gahan as a
\nsong-writer with DM. Gahan has put to use the lessons learned in
\nsong-writing from his solo effort, and has written three tracks —
\n“Suffer Well, “Nothing’s Impossible” and “I Want It All” — on
\nAngel<\/i>. Gahan’s words are as intelligent as Gore’s, and his
\ncuts blend in perfectly with Gore’s, which is saying a lot about
\nhis lyrical ability.<\/p>\n

But unlike Gore’s wonderful singing appearances on
\nother DM records, the Gore-sung songs on Angel<\/i> are dismal.
\n“Macro” and “Damaged People” are not only the album’s weakest, but
\nalso the band’s. These oddly-composed cuts on Angel<\/i> clearly
\nstand out as the group’s worst in years.<\/p>\n

Angel<\/i> is not a classic like the other Depeche
\nMode records. However, it is a decent comeback from a difficult
\nphase of Exciter’s sloppy experimentation. Though Angel<\/i> may
\nbe a bit sketchy, it is nevertheless a solid effort. But since the
\nband has set such high expectations with its other albums, it is
\nsometimes impossible for it to meet these expectations. After all,
\nbeing one of the greatest bands in the history of contemporary
\nmusic does come with its pitfalls.<\/p>\n

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