Exciter (2001) 

Depeche Mode 

Depeche Mode pulled off having an industrial alternative club sound while simultaneously being arena-filling popstars. When the pioneering UK group started in 1980, punk had radically reformed the music scene and ushered a new beginning. A new generation of musicians were trading their guitars for synthesisers. Depeche Mode’s dark and brooding signature sound combines cutting-edge synths, clean-lined drum programming, and lyrics exploring sin, redemption and social commentary. 

While Depeche Mode debuted with danceable synth-pop brightness, their sound grew increasingly haunting. Album by album, they enhanced their electronic palette through sophisticated sound design and compelling song writing. That approach is showcased in Exciter (2001), featuring long standing members Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and the late Andy Fletcher, with production by producer Mark Bell. 

Bell’s golden touch lends the album every moment of the album an electric, three-dimensional quality. A member of ‘80s rave icon LFO, he had also produced music for Byörk, bringing with him an affection for thick electronic breaks, Detroit techno’s forward-thinking sensibility, and experimentalism. His production lends itself naturally to Depeche Mode’s world, because both artists use electronic textures to aestheticise landscapes of decay.

Lyrically, Exciter doesn't feel as strong as their previous works. Where their previous songs were politically-charged and clumsy in heartfelt ways, their writing here sounds like a parody of themselves. But what the album can’t express in lyrics, it expresses in texture. The lush, mysterious tracks “Breathe” and “I Am You” drift through ambient-dub territory.

There are also danceable tracks like the techno-infused “I Feel Loved.” Its stomping percussion recalls the industrial clang of their earlier hit “People are People,” whose metal-on-metal sounds defined the band’s trademark style. In an interview with Simon Reynold in Rip It Up And Start Again, Gore said that Depeche Mode were inspired by Einstürzende Neubauten’s industrial ideas but tried to recontextualise them in pop music. 

Depeche Mode never abandoned their rock sensibility, as heard in the cow-boy-like twangy guitars of “The Sweetest Condition,” reminiscent of the band’s anthem “Personal Jesus.”  Balancing this darker, grittier facade are moments of sensitivity and delicacy. The closing lullaby “Goodnight Lovers” envelops listeners in a lush and mysterious ballad.

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