‘Bottle Living’ covers similar lyrical ground albeit written as a second hand account: “Living for the bottle; There’s no light on in his eyes; How heavy are the lies; Just jumped right out his skin.” The song hints at a Doors influence, with its blues guitar and harmonica, Gahan playing the role of the cyborg Morrison. However, these tracks are not representative of the album as a whole, which is based around understated electronica and Gahan’s powerful vocals. Thesefeatures combine to enchanting effect on ‘Hold On’, which is a beautifulballad reminiscent of U2, if they had shackled The Edge. The minimalism does not always inspire such gems, with the album as a whole curiouslyunengaging, but then again I could never understand the appeal of Depeche Mode.Existing fans should delight in an album that provides all the funereal desolationthat you could desire. Gavin Eves
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