aaamusic | On 21, May 2012

Soulsavers, the project created by the wicked mind of Rich Machin and Ian Glover, produce their fourth creature, The Light The Dead See, a compendium of darkness in twelve tracks. This album sees the collaboration of Dave Gahan, which casts a Depeche Mode-sque shadow on the already gothic atmospheres of the English duo.

After the desert-like landscapes of intro La Ribera, Gahan’s voice kicks in with In The Morning, a wall-of-sound orchestral piece with sharp guitar and a breathtaking brass section. Longest Day has a similar impact, marking the implementation of the Soulsavers’ move from electronica to rock already hinted in Broken, their last album released in 2009.

Gahan takes the stage with Presence of God, where his voice stands out in all its beauty and depth, dominating a feeble guitar and the electronic background. Considering the health-related issues that afflicted Gahan in the past 3 years, listening to his voice, so full and intense as in Just Try, almost sounds like a revengeful victorious assertion against illness. Morricone echoes in the ballad Take me Back Home, probably the most classic piece of the album, while Bitterman and I Can’t Stay seem to reference to the Calexico of Feast Of Wire.

The Light The Dead See must then be interpreted in two different ways.

On a music level, we see the impressive growth of Soulsavers’ project; on the other one hand, this album is a statement: Dave Gahan is back!

★★★★★

Lorenzo Coretti