Paper Monsters

First Martin Gore does it, and now Dave Gahan releases his debut solo album. Where his bandmate’s Counterfeit was all cover versions, though, this is a collection of 10 new songs from the pen of Gahan and multi-instrumentalist Knox Chandler. Paper Monsters is pretty much what you’d expect from Gahan, who doesn’t deviate too much from the blueprint that has served both himself and the Mode well, although most listeners could have been forgiven for expecting more in the way of pomp and ceremony.

Gahan has always had a taste for the epic arrangement, and his vision is given free rein on the powerful ‘Black And Blue Again’, a mid-paced affair that builds in intensity to a tumultuous crescendo, before going out with a whisper rather than a scream. Heavy industrial bass forms the backbone to tracks like ‘Dirty Sticky Floors’, with some searing guitar and Alan Moulder-ish sound effects, overlaid with the Basildon boy’s trademark vocals. The tortured ‘Bottle Living’ sees Gahan wrestling with the demons of alcoholism, while the soaring ‘Hidden Houses’ is amongst the best things he has done in years.

The gentle ‘Hold On’, the plaintive ‘Stay’, the gorgeous, string-laden ‘Bitter Apple’ and the delicate ‘A Little Piece’ prove that Martin Gore doesn’t have the monopoly on tender love songs. The gospel-influenced ‘Goodbye’ closes the album on an extremely positive note.

Paper Monsters is a strong set of songs, but it isn’t different enough from his normal output to have non-DM fans in a lather. For devotees, however, this will serve quite nicely until the next Mode operandi is revealed.