Ever wonder why Depeche Mode from the late 90's and on sounds a lot different than their earlier work. Is it perhaps missing some of the rich, layered synthesizer elements which give early Depeche Mode its distinctive sound? The answer would be: yes, post 1995 Depeche Mode does have a different sound because that's when Alan Wilder left the band to pursue his then side project Recoil on a full time basis.
I was lucky enough (thanks to some super cool friends) to catch Recoil as they stopped over in Austin for stop two of a three stop show (the other stops were Mexico City and London). Recoil was in town because Joe Richardson, a blues musician and long time member of the Austin music scene, was a collaborator on the Subhuman album. Joe warmed up the crowd with some blues, and then Recoil hit the stage with their "Strange Hour" show (comprised mainly of tracks from their Selected album). It was all pretty intense. The music was complex and multilayered electronica, at times very dark and ominous. It was a good mix of material from Subhuman and additional tracks from Selected. The videos which accompanied the show were often a little bleak and creepy, but the Russian influence exposed in the credits explained a lot of the mood and tone.
Except for a few segments I found to be loud and tedious, I was overall quite impressed. I like complex and intense electronica, and Recoil delivered an excellent sound. Moreover, it was cool to see Wilder (who's now 52) onstage and having a great time putting on a show. We should all be so lucky to be having that much fun with our work.
