Dave Gahan & Soulsavers – Angels & Ghosts – Album Review by Killian Laher

Having collaborated in 2012, electronica duo Soulsavers and Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan return for a second helping. Their previous effort, The Light The Dead See was a sort of sprawling undertaking. This follow up, Angels & Ghosts, is tighter – the instrumentals which bound previous albums with Gahan and Mark Lanegan together are gone, replaced by dark, electronica tinged rock, very much in the mould of Gahan’s main band. The gospel-tinged opening track Shine bears all the hallmarks of Depeche Mode classics like Personal Jesus and I Feel You. After this, You Owe Me is moodier fare, while Tempted is a kind nod of Depeche Mode style ballad, Gahan in fine voice.

And that’s the issue here. None of the tracks here are particularly different from Gahan’s day job. Tracks like My Sun, and All of This and Nothing even have lyrics about being “the dirt beneath your feet” which wouldn’t feel out of place on Music for the Masses, Violator etc. The sparse, subtly orchestrated One Thing and Lately provide fine backing to allow Dave Gahan’s voice to sound as good as it has ever sounded in the last thirty years.

So a decent collection of moody, winter-inflected rock then, and not the worst thing to have on in the background of a dark evening. However it’s difficult to see the point of this album, other than to show that Soulsavers can make a downbeat Depeche Mode sounding album.

Tracklist –

1. Shine
2. You Owe Me
3. Tempted
4. All of This and Nothing
5. One Thing
6. Don’t Cry
7. Lately
8. The Last Time
9. My Sun

All of This and Nothing: