Hourglass

I am not a big Depeche Mode fan. I certainly respect the band and the songwriting talents of Martin Gore. Dave Gahan is one of the best front men in music. Their music is highly influential. While I am not much of an admirer of Depeche Mode, my wife is. Because of this, I have seen the band in concert multiple times and I am very familiar with all of their albums and solo projects.

Last week, Dave Gahan’s second solo album, “Hourglass,” was released. I was somewhat curious as to how it would sound, but I also wasn’t expecting any surprises. Gahan’s first solo project, 2003’s “Paper Monsters,” was a mild success and really an extension of the Depeche Mode sound. So it is no surprise that Gahan’s latest effort again is a journey down familiar territory.

Being the good husband that I am, I picked up a copy of “Hourglass” for my wife the day of release. She was pretty excited about checking it out. At some point in the afternoon she called me from the car to tell me how horrible it was. For a devoted fan of Depeche Mode to be turned off so quickly by a new solo project by one of the prominent band members is a troubling sign. She asked me to give it a spin to see what I thought.

Initially I wasn’t as negatively impacted by the disc as she was. There were no surprises. The vocals were strong and backed by a heavy electronic landscape of sounds. Then the third track hit. I am not sure if I have heard a worse song in the past few years than “Deeper And Deeper.” It is just brutal. The music is this heavy pounding mush of sonic crap. As the disc plays on, a few tracks go down a similar path.

I just wonder why Gahan doesn’t use his solo projects as an opportunity to musically branch out to unfamiliar territory. I know enough to know Gahan has diverse musical interests and definitely is a fan of Rock N Roll. This is one highly gifted vocalist and it would be fascinating to hear him record an album of Rock songs with a 3 piece Rock band without such a heavy electronic production.

Is “Hourglass” really a creative outlet for Dave Gahan? No one should expect to be blown away by a Dave Gahan solo project that attempts to mirror a Depeche Mode release. Gahan is not going to lyrically compose anything equivalent to Martin Gore’s gems. The end result of this new solo release by Dave Gahan is a boring and forgettable failed attempt to parody Depeche Mode glories.