DEPECHE MODE: CRITICAL SOUNDBITES ABOUT ‘EXCITER’

DEPECHE MODE
Critical Soundbites About
'EXCITER' 

"What makes this disc so intriguing is its embracing of the latest electronic substrata within the context of chief songwriter Martin Gore's well-crafted pop tunes. Selecting Mark Bell as producer was a daring move for Depeche Mode. Bell, founder of British electronic institution LFO and overseer of Bjork's Homogenic and Selmasongs, has imbued Gore's songs with electronic atmospheres that generate tension, nirvana (as in the condition) and libido-flexing. Vocalist Dave Gahan sounds remarkably soulful."
–Jason Pettigrew, ALTERNATIVE PRESS June 2001 (4 out of 5 star review)

"Exciter…is at once the earthiest and most futuristic song cycle the group has released yet, folding acoustic and electronic orchestration into gorgeous sonic landscapes. The graceful, pulsating 'Dream On' may be the finest single that songwriter Martin Gore has crafted since 1990's 'Enjoy The Silence.' The delicately soulful 'Freelove' and 'Shine' are lovelier still, showcasing Dave Gahan's most tender, confident singing to date."
–Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY May 15, 2001 (3 * star review)

"Mellow, dramatic, and bathed in atmosphere, Exciter is the sound of a band at the height of its powers. Depeche Mode may have become an institution, complete with tribute albums and imitators, and they've undoubtedly had a huge influence on contemporary radio fodder from Moby to Manson, but they deserve respect for what they're doing, not for what they did first."
–Paul Rogers, L.A. Weekly May 18-24, 2001

"From the achingly vulnerable vocals of the semi-acoustic 'Dream On' to the meditative guitar lines of 'Breathe,' EXCITER is all about texture, contemplation, and maturity."
–Ernesto Lechner, Los Angeles Times May 13, 2001

"Twenty years on, Depeche Mode is improving with age."
–Erik Himmelsbach, REVOLVER May/June 2001

"They borrowed Bjork's producer, Mark Bell, who has the ability to create pop hooks from the mere texture of a sound. He gave Depeche a whole new mode, finding more warmth in David Gahan's voice and adding a special moodiness to the arrangements….writer Martin Gore has come up with some of his prettiest tunes and Bell's sterling sound startles."
–Jim Farber, New York Daily News May 13, 2001

"…this is one luscious album, dark, brooding and haunted…Exciter is innovative, enigmatic and passionate, but it's also Martin Gore finally achieving the pop perfection he'd locked inside for so long."
–Johnny Black, Mojo (U.K.) June 2001

"…Depeche Mode's tenth studio album ranks miraculously high. Produced by Bjork collaborator Mark Bell, Exciter glimmers like a gentle ambient doodle with vocals: The beats are mostly minimal, closer to early Kraftwerk than to current electronica. But because Gore's songwriting is so focused and Gahan's vocal presence is so commanding, the softest songs leap to the foreground like a whisper from a lover. Although they integrate guitars and orchestrations with greater finesse, the skeletal arrangements leave Gahan no harmonic place to hide, no singalong choruses to coast. Lips pressed against the mike, the rehabbed frontman turns in his most physically intimate, emotionally masterful performances on unearthy ballads like 'When The Body Speaks.' Yet he also proves himself capable of summoning bygone sleaze on the album's hilariously sullied, sole industrial jam, 'The Dead Of Night.' And on one of Gore's vocal cameos, 'Breathe,' his wounded choirboy tenor sounds grandly operatic in the Scott Walker lounge-troubadour tradition…from the breathless a cappella opening of 'Dream On' to the closing strains of 'Goodnight Lovers,' Exciter maintains an otherworldly mood and purity of purpose that today's angst-ridden rockers would trade their Jeff Buckley CDs to attain."
–Barry Walters, Rolling Stone May 15, 2001 (3 * star review)

"Listen past the carefully programmed synths, and there's a deep sense of rock and roll roots in the songs of Exciter. Not only is there a sly use of the blues vocabulary in 'Dream On' and 'The Sweetest Condition,' but the melodic ideas in 'Breathe' and 'Goodnight Lovers' draw quite explicitly from the pop styles of the Fifties and Sixties. There's even a hint of doo-wop to the backing vocals in 'Goodnight Lovers.'"
–J.D. Considine, REVOLVER May/June 2001

"It's worth getting excited about a Depeche Mode album if only because of the band's huge influence on electronica. But there's much more to Exciter than retro curiosity value: recorded with producer Mark Bell (LFO), the album is mature and refreshing; its resonant guitars wrestle with subtly worked beats in a psych-pop landscape."
–Tim Fielding, GEAR May 2001

"…at least four of these songs are as fine as the band's best, and most of the rest reasonably approximate former glories…"
–Kurt B. Reighley, PULSE! May 2001 (3 * out of 4 star review)

"Rather than get lost in a struggle to reinvent themselves, this band–like Louis Armstrong, the Stones, and Philip Glass–has made it their mission to keep doing what they do best, and to do it better than ever."
–Robert L. Doerschuk, KEYBOARD May 2001

"Whether you caught their best-of tour for the release of Singles 86>98 or dug them during their Black Celebration period, Exciter is where the group left off sonically with Violater. The tones float back and forth between Then and Now: classic synth Mode noodlings on 'The Sweetest Condition' combined with the industrial beats on 'Comatose' and 'Dream On,' the first single off the album to be remixed by the likes of Kid 606 and Bushwacka (DM should be applauded for seeking out new remixers, unlike their superstar brethren)….it's innovative, it's essential Depeche Mode. Start learning the lyrics now, because you'll be singing along to them when DM unveil them during their summer tour."
–Patricia DeLuca, Mixer June 2001 (8 out of 10 star review)

"Martin Gore still writes beautifully sad melodies better than anyone…"
–Alec Foege, People July 9, 2001

"The choice of Bjork's former producer, Mark Bell, was a crucial element to the strength of this album. His vision of seeing a singer's voice as an instrument has taken Gahan's vocal capabilities to new heights, and intensifying Martin Gore's multi-emotional songwriting abilities to new levels as well."
–Ajar, Dance Music Authority June 2001 (5 star review)

"Powerfully understated in its arrangements, Exciter explores themes such as betrayal and the longing for intamacy and trust. But despite the albums spartan musical sense, the songs are surprisingly lush-particularly the brief but gorgeous instrumentals 'Lovetheme' and 'Easy Tiger'…Nowhere is the band's restraint more rewarding than on 'Freelove,' on which Martin Gore, trepidation in his voice, sings: This is free love, no hidden catch, no strings attatched. He's accompanied in his stark confessional by a featherlight electronic pulse that, by song's end, becomes a melodic motif aptly mirroring Gore's hope and diligence."
–James Healy, San Union Tribune May 30, 2001 (3 out of 4 star review)

"Exciter comes highly recommended to anyone nursing rosy romantic illusions. With its psychosexual sentiments and ejaculating rhythms, Exciter is the soundtrack to a sublimely dysfunctional relationship. And in the final analysis, don't most relationships fit that description?"
–Bruce Britt, New Times Broward (South Florida) June 7-13, 2001

"…each Depeche record reveals another dramatic facet of a subtle jewel…Martin Gore's moody melodies have grown sadder and prettier, curving curiously but comfortably through producer Mark Bell's twitchy mix. Bell leaves room for Gore's languidly sensuous songs-the chamber-style 'When The Body Speaks,' the slow-sparkling soul of 'Goodnight Lovers'-to evoke elegy without sorrow, claustrophobia without fear. The mix also brings out the clarity of singer Dave Gahan's quietly expressive baritone. Gahan delicately kisses the skin of the deceptively cunning melody of 'Freelove,' and plants a hard one on the disturbed, quivering 'The Sweetest Condition.'"
–A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer May 20, 2001 (3 * star review)

"With their 10th studio album, Exciter, Depeche Mode has successfully cultivated all their emotion over the past 20 years and harnessed their soul into their sound for all to experience."
–Chris Bergen, Music.com May 25, 2001

"On their tenth studio album, they have undergone a spiritual rejuvenation. Their 90's industrial drone has been softened, and not since its '80s heyday has Depeche sounded so pretty."
–Sarah Pratt, US Weekly May 18, 2001 (3 star review)

"…(Gahan's) vocal confidence seeps over the listener. These cuts, all written by keyboardist Martin Gore, are rich, fluid marvels. The tunes' sonic levels-a heavy bottom rhythm, a smooth middle melody and a thin, ethereal veneer-are synchronized to create dark, moody electro-pop."
–Mario Tarradell, The Dallas Morning News May 20, 2001

"Mark Bell, the British techno producer whose credits include Bjork's bold Homogenic, lends his hand here, and the result is a more adventurous and electronic-sounding Depeche Mode than ever. 'I Feel Loved' is the album's shiniest moment. With its various pop hooks and mood swirls, Exciter is a must for Depeche Mode die-hards."
–Justin Serement, The Hartford Courant May 17, 2001

"Powerfully understated in its arrangements, Exciter explores themes such as betrayal and the longing for intimacy and trust. But despite the album's spartan musical sense, the songs are surprisingly lush-particularly the brief but gorgeous 'Lovetheme' and 'Easy Tiger.'"
–James Healy, San Diego Union Tribune May 17, 2001 (3 star review)

"Gahan…sounds better than ever. Much like U2 on its last album, Depeche Mode has gracefully transitioned to middle age with Exciter, trading in the cache of self-righteous angst for the glowing warmth of quiet desperation."
–Bill Werde, The Washington Post May 16, 2001

"….Exciter shows the band in classic musical form. Their first collection of new tunes since 1997's Ultra (between sets, they issued 1998's The Singles: '86-'98, a best-of compilation) is typically moody, always introspective, and often literate. Gahan continues to be the compelling vocal embodiment of Gore's hypersensitive, often haunting words…Although the band is wisely continuing to mine the searing synth-pop sound that sparked a string of hits and helped to shape the electronica movement, it is now adding elements of traditional blues, retro-funk, progressive-rock, and orchestral pop to its arrangements."
–Larry Flick, Billboard May 19, 2001

"Depeche Mode gets back on track with Exciter, full of the dark synthesizer riffs and foreboding vocals that first made the group a modern rock phenomenon in the 80's…Two things hold the set together: Mark Bell's quirky, other-worldly production and Dave Gahan's still-haunting voice, which has never been more agile. Thanks to such standouts as the danceable 'I Feel Loved' and the first 'Dream On,' Exciter is the best Depeche Mode album in a decade."
–Wayne Hoffman, Billboard May 19, 2001

"Producer Mark Bell modernizes DM's sound by balancing the gloomy beats with eerie guitar play and an emphasis on frontman Dave Gahan's most confident vocals since rehab. And while some of the band's liveliest moments in recent memory appear on this disc (like the lead-off single 'Dream On'), you should never write off the boys' knack for black celebrations. 'It's a sad disease creeping through my mind,' Gahan moans on 'The Sweetest Condition.' Gotta love those stubborn melancholy bastards."
–E! Online May 15, 2001

"…Mark Bell of LFO (The early-90's Sheffield electronic outfit known for its ultra-low bass tones, not the teen-pop staple), who has produced Bjork, masterfully designed a dirty netherworld of electronics…the quintessential 80's band has served up its most confident offering in over a decade…the subtle truck of the bluesy 'Dream On' makes it the best single the band has put out in years…And 'I Feel Loved'…is simply a great, unshackled dance track. If Ultra presented Depeche Mode thrashing out its demons, then EXCITER finds the group getting comfortable with its legacy after a very rough decade."
–Sara Scribner, CMJ May/June 2001

"From the opening query, 'Can you feel a little love' to the closing axiom, 'When you're born a lover, you're born to suffer,' Depeche Mode is all about feeling. The band continues to mix moody guitars with electro-pop beats, and Dave Gahan's brooding baritone glides over the musical fray."
–Jane Ratcliffe, INTERVIEW May 2001

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