Depeche Mode have released their latest album ‘Playing the Angel' - their seventeenth release of a career spanning over twenty years however I must admit that this was to be the first time I was to hear them. I didn't really know what to expect musically from the band as I didn't really know what genre they fell into. From listening to the first track ‘a pain that I'm used to' it is clear this album has a dark tone though other areas of the album ascend into electric pop.

The opening numbers are tracks which grow on you rather than presenting themselves as hits on first listen. On the back of the CD cover the phrase ‘pain and suffering in various tempos' suggest that this is what the band wants their music to reflect.

Depeche Mode are not the kind of band I would choose to listen to but this album is far from off putting and wouldn't stop me trying them again. The album will no doubt appeal to a seemingly massive fan base that has followed the band for such a long time.

www.depechemode.com