After conquering the world of Synth-Pop in the 80s, Depeche Mode's later output began veering more towards Rock-oriented territory with the group including fewer and fewer dance tracks on each subsequent release. Now while the Rock influences are still present in "Playing The Angel," this new album from these groundbreaking synth pioneers feels to be something of a return to the sounds of their halcyon days with releases like "Music For The Masses" and "Violator."
Starting off with a set of blaring opening synth horns on the grungy downtempo dance cut "A Pain That I'm Used To" and exquisitely blending their darkly evocative synthesizer sound with pulverizing guitar lines that flail above the track, the stage is set for similar up-tempo Dance/Rock hybrids like the gospel-infused "John The Revelator" and the haunting, yet fantastically rhythmic, "Suffer Well."
Now it should be noted that "Playing The Angel" is hardly a pure Dance album and about half the tracks are electro ballads like the introspective "Damaged People" with sadly chiming synths underlying the mournful melody, the slowly grinding "The Darkest Star," or the moody and delicate mid-tempo cut "Nothing's Impossible" that, while perhaps not as club-friendly as the more up-tempo tracks, are still faultless in their place on the album. In fact it's the way that the group manages to intermingle rhythmic tempos throughout the album as well as they intermingle musical styles that makes "Playing The Angel" such a satisfying album and such a masterful and welcome return.
