Living Up To Expectations
Beginning with the dark tiredness that permeates your soul after a frantic night out, 'Saw Something' and moving through the industrial, steely tension that Depeche Mode exuded as best exhibited in the jaw-rattling, 'Deeper And Deeper' with its sinuous violence and thundering rhythm, Dave Gahan is back on form.
On the surface, it may seem that Gahan hasn't moved on from Depeche Mode with religion and dark delights still high on the agenda, but 'Hourglass' has a more refined feel than his previous work, showing the frontman playing more to his strengths and producing grinding tunes. Where Depeche Mode's work differs the most from Gahan's own is that the electro backing is just that on 'Hourglass'; a complement to Gahan's hubristic vocals. Take the shards of snarling guitar and electro clash in the intro of '21 Days', these merely lay a terrifying trail for Gahan's vocals to follow on from.
The shimmering, 'Miracles' goes one step too far in assuming that listeners will be enough in raptures over Gahan's vocals that they'll stomach a criminally bland ballad with little melody. 'Down' is the way that Gahan should do more downbeat with sly wisps of synth still intertwining with the mournful vocals. While being far from dull, 'Use You' is rather generic with squeals and gnawing electro matched with lyrics like, "Sitting there beside you, I just want to use you", which ooze sleaze.
'Insoluble' taps into the perfect medium between Gahan's growling vocals and the skittering ripples of electro with a suitably resonating depth to keep Depeche Mode fans more than happy. The searing electro throbbing on, 'Endless' is presumably there to keep the album firmly placed in the rock category, although it's the kind of sheer noise that quickly leads to headaches in even the most hardcore, better to try out, 'A Little Lie', which is a far more affecting and aggressive number with more subtleties that lend to compulsive listening.
You know what you're getting with Gahan, while 'Paper Monsters' was a minor deviation, 'Hourglass' turns back time and recalls the dark and sinister electro mood music that this man does best.