4 Out Of 5 Stars
While I still enjoy their albums, there's little on Depeche Mode's "Delta Machine" that suggests that they haven't come off auto-pilot since "Ultra." They are still singing about pain, redemption, soul-pain in the search for more, and can't allot Andy Fletcher to singing one song. The devotion to destruction still rules, and analog synths are still the best thing out there.If you're a fan, then that is all that matters. There's hints of grandness in the opening "Welcome To My World," which is a nice way of saying 'join me in my vortex.' Count the times Martin Gore sings the words 'angel,' and 'soul' (although one of them comes in the great couplet "I couldn't save your soul, I couldn't even take you home"). Alas if it were only that simple. But it is devoted DM fan, it is. They still twiddle with electronic blues ("Soothe My Soul" sounds like a muted "Personal Jesus" without the big distorted guitar, as does the equally interesting "Goodbye") and Gore and Gahan are still in fine voice after all these years.
Fans of the era where Depeche Mode filled their dark spaces with big dance beats will likely find "Delta Machine" wanting. As a long time fan, I've found things to like in almost every album they've released, and that includes the oft-derided "Exciter" (which this album reminds me of often). "Delta Machine" may be the album where the preachers are still talking about fire and brimstone, but are content with knowing that the flock no-longer needs it screamed at them. It's a quiet wonder that bears up to repeated listens.
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