DAVE GAHAN - Hourglass

Mute/Virgin

Dear bretheren - I come before you as a sinner - confessing my dislike of Depeche Mode - the nearest I have ever come to liking anything by this band is a cover version of one of their hits by some guy called Terry Hoax!

But behold! - a miracle has occurred - a miraculous conversion, mayhap. For I have beheld the new CD by Depeche Mode member Dave Gahan - and I am down on my knees in supplication, giving thanks that I've been blessed with such a bright shining light in a world of darkness.

For this is heaven itself. The opening track, "Saw Something" starts as a ballad with jaunty synth and slowly bouncing electro-percussive rhythm, soon aided by swirling synths as the canvas has all manner of synth and bass colorations added to it. Gahan's vocal emerges, a kind of emotive brooding, clear and soaring yet quietly subdued, almost passionate. Cello-like waves back the now rising passion of the expressive voice and the arrangement begins to build. In front of throbbing electronic bass, an expanse of orchestral sounding synths, one of the finest electro-love songs of today unfolds, slowly ascending until it breaks out in a blaze of guitar bliss, just perfectly structured and a true wonder to behold. Sharp contrast is heard on the following track "Kingdom", as this menacing vocal is laid down over an industrial backing, solid percussive beats and deep bass propelling a sea of synths and electronic textures, all of which are topped by a vocal that continues to rise up majestically as the intensity slowly piles on, the result way more like Seabound than Mode and a great track. "Deeper + Deeper" strays even further into industrial dancefloor territory with a massive sounding slice of addictive rhythms rolling like a juggernaut as a Marilyn Manson-like vocal snarls on top of this immesne sounding ocean of rhythm and swirling, groaning synth leads, as good as anything put out by Manson, only minus the heavy metal overload. "21 Days" is positively evil - this menacing vocal creeps along over this almost chaotic electronic backing but structure wins the day as the song strides more into harmonies-as-hooks and the whole thing emerges as a 21st century answer to classic The The, "Miracles" starts quietly on a wash of warm sounding cosmic synths, slow beats added as the journey begins, synth leads quietly winding, then the vocal comes in, equally slowly, on a ballad that, despite the slighly cheesy quality of the lyrics, manages to keep your attention as a love song full of yearning and comes at just the right place in the album for you to judge it as worthy.

At this point you've already heard half an album of grandeur and excellence - the good part is, there's another half of the same to come. All told, doesn't put a foot wrong, and as fine a modern electronic song-based album as you'll hear.

Andy Garibaldi (Dead Earnest)

Dead Earnest