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‘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. These
features combine to enchanting effect on ‘Hold On’, which is a beautiful
ballad reminiscent of U2, if they had shackled The Edge.
The minimalism does not always inspire such gems, with the album as a whole curiously
unengaging, but then again I could never understand the appeal of Depeche Mode.
Existing fans should delight in an album that provides all the funereal desolation
that you could desire.
Gavin Eves
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