Depeche Mode - The Story of the Universe

I start this blog with some reservations as one of my readers has told me that he will only remain a follower if i never review another pet shop boys album. as i only have 4 followers this equates to 25% of my readership and therefore is a threat that must be taken seriously. So i'm wary as i don't know how close Depeche Mode falls to PSB on the 'little fat kid from Hey Dads' do not review list. Both seminal 80's synth pop bands, both have continued to make music over a 20 year span, both have many albums to their name ranging from god awful to critcally acclaimed, and both are very old and should've probably stopped years ago. Depeche Mode has had a few hits since their peak period in the 80s and early 90s. Moving towards a more electronic, house feel they've had a few dance floor hits via remixes, Kruder and Dorfmeister's remix of 'Useless' a prime example. I know this because i had a brief dalliance with club culture in the late 90's. There's some good songs on this album, the opener 'In Chains' is a fine example of how to write a spacial, atmospheric, interesting song and is a great start to the album, 'In Sympathy' is a perfect example of the new wave style that a tonne of artists have recently tried to re-create. I mean these are the original masters so surely they have a head start.. However tracks such as 'Wrong' ( while i get the concept it fails miserably ) and 'Corrupt' ( trying for Pink Floyd, but sounding more like Primus ) stop this from being a great concept album. But it is a good one. And worth a listen. Well for some of my readers...