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The world of popular music can be a harsh environment, and anyone who experiences it has to evolve to survive. Dinosaurs become extinct very quickly. So it comes as a surprise to find Depeche Mode still alive after twenty-five
years. And not only alive, but kicking too. Playing the Angel marks a return to form for the enduring keyboard trio who lost their way towards the end of the ’90s and the beginning of the ’00s.
Two solid stompers open the album: “The Pain That I’m Used To” and “John The
Revelator,” the latter track ranks as one of the record’s best. Skip over
the nondescript “Suffer Well,” and you hit “The Sinner In Me.” This is minimal
Mode, reminiscent of their mid-eighties drum machine sound. It’s good
though, building up from a slow thump to a crashing finale.
Track number five is “Precious,” a title that also works as an apt
description. It’s a precious thing, rare and precious. The beat is simple,
the melody gentle and the lyrics, as ever, a mixture of religious symbolism
and heartfelt longing. If you’re familiar with “Enjoy the Silence,” their tour-de-force song from the early nineties, you’ll embrace “Precious” with the
same tender touch. “Macro” and “All I Want” suffer from having to follow in the wake of such a strong tune, but the album picks up again with “Nothing’s
Impossible.” DM are dark and moody here, but an optimistic chorus saves the song from an overdose of gloom.
Out of the final trio: “Damaged People,” “Lilian” and “The Darkest Star,” it’s “Lilian” that saves the album from going out with a whimper. As with many Depeche Mode songs, there’s a clever interplay between a simple guitar riff and a similar keyboard melody.
Though a return to form, Playing the Angel doesn’t reach the lofty heights of Violator, their best seller to date. But it does prove there’s still life in DM, and they’re not ready to be fossilised just yet.
