- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Sounds of the Universe comes on a bit softer, with less industrial guitar clang and more of chief songwriter Martin Gore's dreamy atmospherics.
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A less then stellar return, then, but a welcome one nevertheless.
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They might be no longer going through the motions, but those moves seem awfully familiar.
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MojoEven where Sounds Of The Universe resembles a self-help manual, it does so with commanding tunes and a ring of truth. [May 2009, p.102]
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They might not be affecting musical culture the way they did in their prime, but at least half of their latest effort is as strong as anything they've written.
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Q MagazineIt's hard not to feel disappointed by the sense that a band who have raised their game so many times have nowhere new to go. [May 2009, p.114]
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The result sounds like a time machine back to the Eighties.
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They tempt us with a strong first half and then dump us in a collection of tossed off b-sides.
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Even at its most imaginative, this is seamless Depeche Mode filler, music that could be made by any number of acolytes.
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Dave Gahan's songwriting has improved since 2007's solo "Hourglass," but this Sounds like a mundane midlife crisis.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 86 out of 119
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Mixed: 23 out of 119
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Negative: 10 out of 119
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Nov 27, 2013
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Mar 25, 2013
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Nov 29, 2012