Sounds of the Universe
2009 studio album by Depeche Mode From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2009 studio album by Depeche Mode From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sounds of the Universe is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 April 2009 by Mute Records. The album was supported by the 2009–10 Tour of the Universe. Three singles were released from the album: "Wrong", "Peace", and a double A-side of "Fragile Tension" and "Hole to Feed". "Perfect" was also released in the United States as a promotional single.
| Sounds of the Universe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 April 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:52 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Producer | Ben Hillier | |||
| Depeche Mode chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Sounds of the Universe | ||||
| ||||
The album was released by Virgin Records and Capitol Records in the United States and by EMI in Canada and Mexico, marking the first time in the band's catalog that saw distribution from EMI within North America, where previous albums were released by Sire Records and Reprise Records, both divisions of Warner Music Group.
While Dave Gahan was still busy with his solo album Hourglass (2007), Martin Gore was in his home studio in Santa Barbara, California, working on new songs. In May 2008, the band went to the studio to record their twelfth studio album.[3][4] Ben Hillier took the production reins again, because the band were so satisfied with their previous collaboration on Playing the Angel (2005). As with their previous album Playing the Angel, Gahan once again wrote three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott: "Hole to Feed", "Come Back", and "Miles Away/The Truth Is".[5] Gore shares lead vocal duties with Gahan on "In Chains", "Hole to Feed", "Peace", and "Little Soul". The band described the time in the studio as very productive, a total of 22 songs were created and it was difficult to choose the right songs for the album. Five of the songs not used on the album were released as part of the deluxe box set.[6] Short video clips of the band and production team at work in the studio were regularly posted on the band's homepage. This would be the first time that the band would openly post detailed clips of their recording process on social media.
Lyrically, this album has a good amount of personal lyrics. Gahan explained that the song "Hole to Feed" was written about the desire to fill a metaphorical hole but not knowing what to fill it up with.[7] The song "Wrong" was described by Gore to have a bit of black humor in its lyrics but doesn't want people to find it depressing.[8] Gore believed that "Peace" is one of the best songs he had ever written.[9] Even though the track "Miles Away/The Truth Is" is not inherently about drugs, Gahan feels like that subject is always present in his songs due to his past substance abuse.[10]
Musically, the album has a heavy use of analog synthesizers giving it a more traditional electronic sound. The opening track "In Chains" opens with synthesizers tuning up. "Wrong" was chosen to be the first single off the album since the band felt it sounded very different. Gahan described the track as having R&B influences while also being a rant.[11] Gahan explained that "Come Back" was going to sound more gospel but the band decided to make it into a wall of sound.[12]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.5/10[13] |
| Metacritic | 70/100[14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [15] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[16] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[17] |
| Los Angeles Times | [18] |
| NME | 7/10[19] |
| Pitchfork | 6.3/10[20] |
| PopMatters | 5/10[21] |
| Rolling Stone | [22] |
| Spin | [23] |
| The Times | [24] |
Sounds of the Universe received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 28 reviews.[14] Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt stated that on Sounds of the Universe, Depeche Mode "still sound genuinely inspired"[17] and Ned Raggett of AllMusic concluded, "Sounds of the Universe is a grower, relying on a few listens to fully take effect, but when it does, it shows Depeche Mode are still able to combine pop-hook accessibility and their own take on 'roots' music for an electronic age with sonic experimentation and recombination."[15] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph noted that the album "shows up the imaginative constraints of most guitar-based rock."[25]
However, Rolling Stone critic Melissa Maerz felt that "the result sounds like a time machine back to the Eighties", adding that "Depeche Mode should be poised for a comeback, but it's too soon to unpack those black turtlenecks."[22] Bill Stewart of PopMatters wrote that Depeche Mode "tempt us with a strong first half and then dump us in a collection of tossed off b-sides."[21] Jon Caramanica wrote for The New York Times that while the album "lacks the fragility of 1984's Some Great Reward or the earned attitude of 1990's Violator, it's unmistakably an attempt at revisiting the past, admirable either as an act of defiant stubbornness or tenacious commitment", but also opined that "even at its most imaginative, this is seamless Depeche Mode filler, music that could be made by any number of acolytes."[26]
Sounds of the Universe debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 30,537 copies[27]—the band's highest-peaking album since chart-topping Ultra (1997).[28] However, it is their first album in their career not to contain a top 20 hit single in their homeland country. In the United States, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 80,000 units in its first week.[29] The album was ultimately ranked number 200 on the Billboard 200-year-end chart for 2009,[30] and had sold 193,000 copies in the US by November 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[31]
Sounds of the Universe was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.[32] The album's sleeve design was voted number ten on the 2009 Best Art Vinyl poll.[33]
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consequence of Sound | The Top 100 Albums of ’09 | 2013 | 42[34] |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Chains" | 6:53 | ||
| 2. | "Hole to Feed" |
| 3:59 | |
| 3. | "Wrong" | 3:13 | ||
| 4. | "Fragile Tension" | 4:09 | ||
| 5. | "Little Soul" |
| 3:31 | |
| 6. | "In Sympathy" | 4:54 | ||
| 7. | "Peace" | 4:29 | ||
| 8. | "Come Back" |
| 5:15 | |
| 9. | "Spacewalker" | instrumental | 1:53 | |
| 10. | "Perfect" | 4:33 | ||
| 11. | "Miles Away/The Truth Is" |
| 4:14 | |
| 12. | "Jezebel" | Gore | 4:41 | |
| 13. | "Corrupt" (includes a hidden track "Interlude #5", starting at 8:16) | 8:59 | ||
| Total length: | 60:52 | |||
All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Oh Well" |
| 5:59 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey Dub) | 5:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey Dub) | 5:02 |
| 16. | "Jezebel" (SixToes Remix) | 5:31 |
| 17. | "Little Soul" (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Ambient Mix) | 9:19 |
| 18. | "In Chains" (Minilogue's Earth Remix) | 7:53 |
| 19. | "Wrong" (music video) | 3:23 |
| 20. | "Sounds of the Universe – A Short Film" (video) | 10:05 |
Contains the standard 13-track album on two LPs, as well as a CD of the album (as per the standard CD).
Contains the standard 13-track album, plus a bonus DVD with exclusive features:
Video
Audio
With iTunes Pass, fans receive new and exclusive singles, remixes, video and other content from Sounds of the Universe over a set period of time, delivered to their libraries as soon as they're available. In addition, the iTunes standard pre-order release of Sounds of the Universe contained "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey Dub) as track 14, along with an exclusive edit of "Wrong" called the Trentemøller Remix Edit as track 15.
The iTunes Pass track listing contained the standard 13-track album, plus the following:
Includes three CDs containing the album, bonus songs and remixes, as well as 14 exclusive demos ranging from as far back as the Music for the Masses era.[38] It also contains a DVD featuring three films, a promo video for "Wrong", four songs filmed live in the studio in December 2008, and the album and bonus tracks mastered in 5.1 surround. The box set also includes two 84-page hardback books, the first featuring lyrics to all the songs from the Sounds of the Universe sessions, along with exclusive photography by Anton Corbijn, and the second containing exclusive and candid studio photography by Daniel Miller, Ben Hillier, Luke Smith and Ferg Peterkin. In addition, the box set includes two enamel badges, five artcards sealed in a collector's envelope, a poster, and a certificate of authenticity.
CD 2 – Bonus Tracks & Remixes
CD 3 – Demos
DVD
Packaging/additional content
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sounds of the Universe.[39]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[89] | Gold | 10,000* |
| Belgium (BEA)[90] | Platinum | 30,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[91] | Gold | 15,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[92] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[93] | 3× Gold | 300,000^ |
| Hungary (MAHASZ)[94] | Gold | 3,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[95] | Platinum | 70,000* |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[96] | Gold | 40,000^ |
| Russia (NFPF)[97] | Platinum | 20,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[98] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[99] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[100] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 1,100,000[101] |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
