History Music / Hourglass

* RemixAlbum: ''Hourglass Remixes'', released in 2008.

* {{Angst}}: As per the usual with Music/DepecheMode, there is a lot of angst in ''Hourglass'', mostly resulting from AgeInsecurity.

* LastNoteNightmare: "Use You" ends with an isolated "robotic" synth melody, abruptly following the madness of the song's final section, before the song cuts out entirely.

%%* PowerBallad: "Saw Something".
* SmallStartBigFinish: "Saw Something" and "Endless". The two songs have a softer introduction, before the middle point introduces a dramatic, emotional atmosphere.

* GutturalGrowler: [[ExaggeratedTrope Dave takes this trope to a great extreme]], making his vocals sound as angry and harsh as possible, with audible growling.

* MadnessMantra: Besides "Kingdom" and "Miracles", which are arranged differently, each song includes a certain phrase that is repeated almost obsessively by Dave:

* ArcSymbol: As befitting of its namesake, an hourglass.

* ColorMotif: Primarily black/dark grey or silver/white with the burning gold of the hourglass symbol.

* CabinFever: The verses of "Use You" are majorly about the stress of being trapped somewhere with someone for an extended period of time. "It's killing me, to be in this room, I've gotta get out, I've gotta get out soon. hurting you, with everything I do, it's too long, too long in this place."

* CabinFever: The verses of "Use You" are majorly about the stress of being trapped somewhere with someone for an extended period of time. "It's killing me, to be in this room, I've gotta get out, I've gotta get out soon. I'm hurting you, with everything I do, it's too long, too long in this place."

* CabinFever: The verses of "Use You" are majorly about the stress of being trapped somewhere with someone for an extended period of time. "It's killing me, to be in this room, I've gotta get out, I've gotta get out soon. I'n hurting you, with everything I do, it's too long, too long in this place."

* AirQuotes: In written form, what is [[ImpliedTrope implied]] to be air quotes on Dave's handwritten title for "A Little Lie".

* HellIsThatNoise: Most of the album, but most notably...
** The ambiguous, yet triumphant synth chords in "Kingdom", eerily sounding like a screaming animal.
** "Use You". Especially the instrumental bridge section. Also the creepy choir-like sound following the final chorus.
** The verses of "Insoluble", having creepy, unnerving tones.
** The roaring synth conclusion in "Endless".

* HotterAndSexier: Somehow manages to be a mashup of this and DarkerAndEdgier, but Dave clearly did not hold back on trying to make

''Hourglass'' sound as smooth and intimate as possible. It even rivals Depeche Mode's other albums in how far it goes, especially with "Deeper and Deeper", which is the most straightforward Dave has arguably ever been about lust in his career.

* HotterAndSexier: Somehow manages to be a mashup of this and DarkerAndEdgier, but Dave clearly did not hold back on trying to make ''Hourglass'' sound as smooth and intimate as possible. It even rivals Depeche Mode's other albums in how far it goes, especially with "Deeper and Deeper", which is the most straightforward Dave has arguably ever been about lust in his career.

* SuddenlyShouting: "Use You" is this in song form. Surprisingly, it's the only song on the album that ''does'' sound like Dave is truly shouting out about his agony from within, while the others that surround it sound more melancholy or lustful.

* MisspellingOutLoud: "Disappear" is misspelled as [[BuffySpeak "dissapear"]] on the album's lyric booklet, which also features the lyrics ''handwritten'' by Dave himself, not just transcribed. The two songs that feature this error in plain sight are "21 Days" and "Endless".

* BSide: "Love Will Leave (Das Shadow's Rewerk)", the B-side of "Saw Something", and "Tomorrow", the B-side of "Kingdom".

** "Insoluble": "I/we [action], you have nothing to fear."

* BSide: "Tomorrow", the B-side of "Kingdom", and "Love Will Leave (Das Shadow's Rewerk)", the B-side of "Saw Something".