VCMG: Ssss - Album Review

VCMG
Ssss
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

In their extensive catalog, Depeche Mode's 1981 debut album Speak & Spell is a bit of an anomaly; relatively bright electropop with only slight hints at the darker tone the band would later take to and exploit. The only album Vince Clarke appeared on, he left the band shortly after, hinting that he was not happy with the direction the band was taking. Of course, both Clarke and the continuing members of Depeche Mode went on to very successful separate careers. Clarke with Yaz, The Assembly, and Erasure, taking on a more overt pop tone, and Depeche Mode continuing their exploration of the darker spectrum of synthpop, evolving into the stadium-filling behemoths in their later years. When listening to Speak & Spell, there is a tension and edge to these competing sounds, which is very exciting, and something that was lost when the Clarke parted company with the band. Not to say that Speak & Spell is some brilliant album (it's not), it is frequently clumsy and dated, but nonetheless, you can feel the friction between the two musical directions. Whether this could have continued or not within the band will never be known as both took their own paths and made great music from it. When it was announced that Clarke and Martin Gore were going to collaborate on a techno album I was very intrigued, but also worried that their two different approaches could end up fighting for attention and not gelling together cohesively. For those expecting a Depeche Mode-like album, you will likely be disappointed. This is a 100% techno album, with no pop songs, no vocals, and no apologies for being so. At this point in both of their careers, there really is no need for them to prove anything anymore, it is just two old friends getting together and making a record of the music they want to play. You will not hear any nods to dubstep or any other current dance trends, you will just get ten solid techno tracks. You do get a sense of a slight push and pull between Clarke's pop instincts and Gore's more darker shadings. It reminded me so much of that first Depeche Mode album.

The best tracks on Ssss exploit this tension well; working sleek rhythms, minimal synth lines, and dancefloor grooves. "Skip This Track" whips the beats around a thumping bassline and blurs of keyboards.



"Bendy Bass" rubs wobbly bass against a variety of intertwined keyboard riffs.



"Spock" throbs and bobs with minimal beats, percolating basslines, a rising hum of buzzing synths.



"Flux" begins minimally, increasing with ever denser layers of keyboards, getting harsher and harsher.



The less successful tracks tend to meander a little too long or never really achieve lift off, lacking the tension of the other tracks. First track "Lowly" ascends on a Detroit techno vibe but gets lost with an irritating synth line that sounds like an alarm clock going off in another room.



"Windup Robot" harks back to Kraftwerk with its insistent, motorik rhythm, yet sort of spins in one place too long. Minimal techno is taken to its extreme with "Aftermaths," featuring a synth line that sounds like a telephone busy signal on the fritz. But these missteps are generally few and far between. And thankfully they are spread within the album so there is not a long slog before hitting another good track. Where "Windup Robot" blew its Kraftwerk influence, "Recycle" more than makes up for it with a steely "We Are The Robots" mechanized groove. While "Single Blip" grows slowly into a edgy monster, the layers of keyboards providing tension while never quite giving release.



Ssss is a solid set of techno tracks from two electronic music legends. While it is far from revolutionary, it gets the job done, and even sometimes is almost too good for what it does. Ssss is just the sound of two long time friends having a blast making music, letting no one sound or influence dominate, and sharing the spotlight. That these two men (both in their 50s) can still throw out bangers like "Skip This Track" and "Bendy Bass" shows that they still have the chops and younger artists can still learn a lot from these masters.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.