"Why Hmmm we are for 25 years so successful? ... No idea, said Ehlich". With this sentence it brought Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode in a nutshell. The band is now for a quarter of a century and in that time they have invented as many musical genres as they have also survived. Depeche Mode are still there, sound fresh and unpredictable. They never do what its fans expect and eventually they hit with the result the nerve of time and the waiting crowd That the 11th Studioualbum "Playing the Angel" was not an easy birth is clear and typical of Depeche Mode. The "Exciter" album from 2001 frightened with its click / clack sounds a lot of fans, Dave wanted to write from now on with texts and Martin can be separated from his wife straight. As always, any favorable conditions ... but also for the band as normal. But surprisingly is Depeche Mode with "Playing the Angel" has become a hevorragendes, partly brilliant album that only underlines the fascination and magic of this band. It is darker than its predecessor and much faster and danceable, and catchy in equal proportions as experimental. As a "Heavy-Electronic" has producer Ben Hilliar (Blur, Elbow etc.) referred ... he has brought the band back. The soundscape is again "full", as in "Exciter", there are analog synths used as in the 80s and the guitar is not as important as for "Songs of Faith and Devotion". But do not worry: DM are not "retro" in her old age. Much better ... they only go 1 step back for but 3 to 4 forward. "A Pain That I'm Used to" is with its driving beat at the very beginning the march towards the album before. Bulky synth effects, thumping beats and dark rough guitars are of immediate importance. The experimentally groovy "John the Revelator" is doing the same on. You can tell ... there are Depeche Mode, but they sound different again, but yet familiar. Also the rest of the album, there are no failures ... "Suffer Well" is very trendy and classic DM-number, "The Sinner in Me" or "Nothing's Impossible" echoes the gloomy monotony of old Depeche songs like "Clean" , "To Have and to Hold" or Massive Attack. The 1st single "Precious" while still falls quite out of the ordinary because of their friendly Radio Pop pattern. Who could buy the album after NEN experiencing bad buy. Martins Tracks "Macro" and "Damaged People" are accustomed melancholy, "Lilian" a really stylish, almost relaxed synth-pop song with "The Darkest Star" ends the album in a dismal 6-minute mix of sadness and hope , Depeche Mode at their best, of course! So in practical terms, there is no halfway bad sloping song on this album. This is by no means self-evident, even for DM ratios. True, there are not a lot to criticize in "Playing the Angel". Depeche Mode reflect on their roots, without copying themselves too much, because on the other side they sound fresh and willing to experiment in 2005 than before. Although some sound experiments could be omitted in favor of better atmosphere, but that's not so tragic. This album has all that for which DM were in the last 25 years. It is retrospective and reinvention in one. The fact that this fantastic band has never copied himself and always reinventing them has made such a success and lets her fan base continues to grow. And when you hear such a crazy album as "Playing the Angel", then you also know why.
