Last month, ‘80s synthwave band Depeche Mode released its 13th album, Delta Machine. Referencing the old Delta blues, Delta Machine is the English trio’s attempt to crank out their dusty overdrive and tremolo for some hot and gritty electro-blues jams.
The results are somewhat successful — with emphasis on “somewhat.” Unfortunately, Delta Machine feels like an attempt to try something new, but actually fails to expand on the traditional Depeche Mode sound. Stylistically, it isn’t much different than any of their previous dozen albums, but for diehard fans, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
“Heaven,” the record’s first single, is the band’s best take on the melty electro-blues ambience they seem to be going for. The song is introduced with a slow and drawn out breakbeat, which is joined by warm, dirty synth leads that quiver with a tremolo effect. The slowly stomping percussion hits are on the edge of breaking up, creating a crunchy sound. Just over four minutes long, the song takes on an alternative rock edge with intense and powerful vocal harmonies. Even after two decades, lead singer David Gahan’s voice is still on point.
Gahan’s gospel-like wails and fire and light motifs add to the album’s recurring theme of salvation and punishment, not uncommon in blues music. But somehow it manages to sound contrived on several of the album’s songs. Cheesy lines like “embracing the flame [of love]” make the record occasionally hard to enjoy. Similar lines are scattered throughout the album, all the way up to the closer, “Goodbye.”
Opening with a clean looped guitar lead on top of familiar bluesy bounce, this final song sounds promising. Searing-hot synth leads give me a taste of what electro-blues can sound like when done right. As their “Goodbye” continues, however, the looped guitar stretches on and gets boring. The fiery start sputters out when Gahan drops lines like “looking for someone, someone to stick my hook in.” At that point, the track comes across as an artificial and detached attempt to sound bluesy and meaningful — shortcomings present across the entire album.
The album’s biggest success lies in its warm overdriven searing guitar and synth tones, which capture the ambience and raw energy of both blues and synthwave. But if the energy is there, the spirit isn’t. Frankly, Delta Machine is boring. The record just doesn’t feel genuine. Looking back to past Depeche Mode albums like Violator, which pushed the group into the limelight decades ago, I’m even more disappointed with the empty shell that is _Delta Machine. _
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