Sounds of the Universe

***Sounds of the Universe*** is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on April 17, 2009 by Mute Records. The album was supported by the 2009 - 2010 concert tour 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.

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.

## Background and composition

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 hit the studio to record their twelfth studio album. 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*, Dave Gahan once again wrote three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott: "Hole to Feed", "Come Back", and "Miles Away/The Truth Is". Martin Gore shares lead vocal duties with Gahan on "In Chains", "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. 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 Heed" was written about the desire to fill a metaphorical hole but not knowing what to fill it up with. 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. Gore believed that "Peace" is one of the best songs he had ever written. 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.

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. Gahan explained that "Come Back" was going to sound more gospel but the band decided to make it into a wall of sound.

## Singles

1. Wrong, released on April 6, 2009
2. Peace, released on June 15, 2009
3. Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed, released on December 7, 2009

## Reception

*Sounds of the Universe* received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 28 reviews. *Entertainment Weekly*'s Leah Greenblatt stated that on *Sounds of the Universe*, Depeche Mode "still sound genuinely inspired" 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." Neil McCormick of *The Daily Telegraph* noted that the album "shows up the imaginative constraints of most guitar-based rock."

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." 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." 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."

*Sounds of the Universe* debuted at number two on the U.K. Albums Chart with first-week sales of 30,537 copies—the band's highest-peaking album since chart-topping *Ultra* (1997). 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. The album was ultimately ranked number 200 on the *Billboard* 200-year-end chart for 2009, and had sold 193,000 copies in the U.S. by November 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

*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*. The album's sleeve design was voted number ten on the 2009 Best Art Vinyl poll.

## Tour

The album was supported by the Tour of the Universe. It started on April 23, 2009 and ended on April 21, 2010.

## Personnel

### Depeche Mode

* Martin Gore
* Andy Fletcher
* Dave Gahan

### Additional musicians

* Luke Smith – programming
* Christian Eigner – original programming (tracks 2, 8, 11); drums (tracks 2, 4)
* Andrew Phillpott – original programming (tracks 2, 8, 11)

### Technical

* Ben Hillier – production
* Tony Hoffer – mixing at Chung King Studios (New York City)
* Ferg Peterkin – engineering
* Josh Garcia – engineering assistance
* Jesse Gladstone – engineering assistance
* Anthony Palazzole – engineering assistance
* Sie Medway-Smith – pre-production assistance
* Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Marcussen Mastering (Hollywood, California)

### Artwork

* Anton Corbijn – art direction, photography, cover design
* ShaughnessyWorks – design
* Tea Design – artwork