Music
[Album Review] Depeche Mode “Delta Machine”
If you follow some of my articles or my twitter (hint hint), you know by now that I’m a huge fan and supporter of UK electronic band Depeche Mode. Since I was a young ‘un adjusting the antenna on my radio to get the local pop/rock radio station (how many of you can say you’ve done that?), their sound and attitude always appealed to me. I don’t know if it was Martin Gore’s fantastic songwriting, Andy Fletcher’s mesmerizing sounds, or Dave Gahan’s incredibly unique and versatile voice (I would probably commit some grave crimes to be able to sing like that man) or if it was simply the group as a whole, but I was always hooked when they came on.
Fast forward some 20 years later and I’m still a fan, as eager to hear new music from them as ever. That’s why I’ve been chomping at the bits for a chance to listen to their latest release Delta Machine. Now, having spun the record several times and thinking about it more than is probably healthy, I’ve come to a rather interesting theory. In my mind, I think that Depeche Mode wanted the listener to go through a religious experience when listening to this album.
If you’re scratching your head and asking yourself, “What the hell is he talking about?”, then I encourage you to head on below to hear me out. And if you have a different theory, I’d love to hear it!
Let me paint the picture of how I came to this realization, shall I? I’m laying back on my couch, wearing my Grado SR60i headphones, and just letting Delta Machine play from beginning to end. I’m not writing, I’m not watching or reading anything, I’m not playing any games. Nope, I’m just listening, absorbing the music and letting it all wash over me.
On the second playthrough, I was thinking on how Gahan sounded almost like a preacher at his pulpit, addressing his flock, in the second track “Angel”. That image was like a light bulb going off above my head. Suddenly, it was much more clear what was going on with this album. Within that song alone, Gahan sings of snakes, the Lord, angels, and more. It begins somewhat sinister but evolves into something more energetic and exciting.
With this realization and this theory in mind, I restarted the album and noticed that “Welcome To My World”, a very cinematic and engaging track, featured some sweeping, escalating synths that called to mind a choir of angels. The lyrics to “Heaven” were suddenly much more religious and pious, with phrases such as “I will scream The Word/Jump into the void/I will guide the world/up to Heaven”.
“Secret To The End”, which showcases Gahan’s stellar vocals, have him calling out “Thank god” while the music of “My Little Universe” reminded me symbolically of the beginning of Genesis. It begins minimalistic and empty, growing more and more lush while adding layers of depth and structure. Even the lyrics have a slight Genesis theme about them.
Each song on this album can have a religious aspect drawn from it if one were to choose to do so. I not being religious at all, it was still fascinating to try and pick out what was and what wasn’t a religious theme.
Now, with all that being said, I should at least tell you what I thought of the album from a musical standpoint, right? Well, to that I say that the album, while engaging and fascinating, simply didn’t speak to me in the same ways that other Depeche Mode albums have. I definitely enjoyed it but were I pressed to choose between this and other of their albums, I know I would always turn to Playing The Angel.
Sonically the album is, as with any Depeche Mode album, a joy to listen to. On top of the fantastic production (the mixing and use of panning alone is applaud-worthy), the various tones, patches, synths, and effects used ensure that something new will pop out each time you listen to it. Get some good headphones and ease back with this one.
The Final Word: While Delta Machine is a great album that continues the legacy of one of the greatest bands of my generation, I simply didn’t find myself as engrossed or intrigued by it as I was hoping. Still Depeche Mode have delivered something that made me think and investigate, which I can truly appreciate.
Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!
Music
‘Lost Themes IV: Noir’ – John Carpenter Announces New Album & Releases New Music Video!
John Carpenter has been teasing big news for a couple weeks now and all has been revealed this morning. Carpenter is back with Lost Themes IV: Noir from Sacred Bones Records!
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”
From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!
In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro, starring Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and Misha Lindes (SadGirl). “Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema,” states Carpenter. “ We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album. The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”
Sacred Bones previews, “The scene-setting new single marks new territory for Carpenter and his cohorts, propelled by a driving post-punk bassline that is embellished by washes of atmospheric synth, pulsing drum machine, and, at the song’s climax, a smoldering guitar solo.”
“Sandy [King, John’s wife and producer] had given John a book for Christmas, of pictures from noir films, all stills from that era,” Davies says of the lightbulb moment for Lost Themes IV. “I was looking through it, and I thought, ‘I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John’s favorite noir films?’ Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films. But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”
Sacred Bones notes, “Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV ‘noirish’ is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it.”
“It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that became the initial Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts,” the label explains. “Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years since, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies have released close to a dozen musical projects, including a growing library of studio albums and the scores for David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween reboots. It helped that they grew up in a musical environment. Daniel’s dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies, and he would pop by the L.A. studio – the same one the Lost Themes records are made in today – to jam, or to perform at wrap parties for John’s films. That innate free-flowing chemistry helps Lost Themes IV: Noir run like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
Here’s the full Lost Themes IV: Noir track list:
1. My Name is Death
2. Machine Fear
3. Last Rites
4. The Burning Door
5. He Walks By Night
6. Beyond The Gallows
7. Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers
8. Guillotine
9. The Demon’s Shadow
10. Shadows Have A Thousand Eyes
The following physical variants will be available:
- Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
- CD
- Tape
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now!
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