DEPECHE MODE - Exciter

Released in South Africa in the month of vocalist Dave Gahan's 39th birhtday, it has been a while since these legends graced laser carved plastic with their sound creations. Through the first four tracks of calm, tender cruising tracks it seems an antithesis to the album title, but when the distorted crunches of The Dead Of Night groans into motion it seems to bend back more towards the intention. But, as a whole, the album is a more eased up journey focussing more on moods created in each song as opposed to a couple of memorable hooks and riffs to mill about your head whilst driving - as they've successfully done so many times in the past. Its somber undertone is hardly subliminal. They're older, wiser, but still creative, talented and able to create poetic tunes with the inter-linked balanced creation of voice and music filling the air with a union of expression. Gahan's unmistakable voice slides in a lustrous manner while mastermind Martin Gore's even more fragile but beautiful vocal expertise are only present in a couple of tracks. They've been doing this for 20 years since they were milk beard new romantic schoolboys - it has occupied their lives and has become it, and "it" them. Some listeners might need a few spins of Exciter to get under its skin (or vice versa), as the album doesn't jump out at you. With each release the Depeche Mode phenomenon enters another realm of experimenting with the reflection of emotions, thoughts, opinions and experiences (good & bad) via the electronic and acoustic trapping onto digital format for the greater world to extract from it what they may.

- PB