History Music / PlayingTheAngel

# "Lilian" (4:49)

* BitchInSheepsClothing: What the album title likely refers to, that being someone who pretends to be good to manipulate others. In the context of [[AlbumTitleDrop "The Darkest Star", which uses the album title in its lyrics]], this refers to someone who [[PaperThinDisguise fails to hide their manipulation]].

-->"Pain and misery always hit the spot knowing you can't lose what you haven't got."

''Playing the Angel'' is the eleventh album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode, released on 13 October, 2005 through Creator/MuteRecords in the UK and in conjunction with Creator/SireRecords & Creator/RepriseRecords in the US. A departure from the relatively mellow TripHop soundscapes of ''Exciter'' before it, the album sees the band return to the aggressive {{industrial}} {{grunge}} style of ''Music/SongsOfFaithAndDevotion'' and ''Music/{{Ultra}}'', the end result of the group once again being faced with personal crisis. Specifically, chief songwriter Martin Gore had gone through an acrimonious divorce as a result of more than a decade of battling alcoholism, with the music and lyrics on the album vividly characterizing his state of mind at the time.

* MythologyGag: The loud electronic screeches that open "A Pain That I'm Used To"-- and by extent the album-- hark back to the loud tire screech that opens "I Feel You" and, by extension, ''Music/SongsOfFaithAndDevotion''. The same noise also acts as a nod to "The Dead of Night" from ''Exciter''.

* TripHop: On the slow-burning, creepy "The Sinner In Me" and "The Darkest Star", nodding back to the prominence of the style on ''Exciter'' and the non-album material immediately after ''Ultra''.

* MachoMasochsim: On "Lilian".

During the tour of ''Playing the Angel'', aptly named ''Touring the Angel'', Dave Gahan wrote various other songs, and also had some extras left over from the album's recording sessions, which inspired him to produce ''Music/{{Hourglass}}'', released two years later in 2007, with the same duo that assisted him writing in this album, that being Andrew Phillpott and Christian Eigner.

** "A Pain That I'm Used To", the starting track, begins with loud, dissonant screeching sounds that reappear throughout the song at several points.

** "The Sinner In Me" features an alarm-like wailing synth in the verses, and in the post-chorus it features a grating repeating squishing synth sound, with echoing bells backing it up.

* HellIsThatNoise: "A Pain That I'm Used To", the starting track, begins with loud, dissonant screeching sounds that reappear throughout the song at several points.

''Playing the Angel'' is the eleventh album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode, released on 13 October, 2005. A departure from the relatively mellow TripHop soundscapes of ''Exciter'' before it, the album sees the band return to the aggressive {{industrial}} {{grunge}} style of ''Music/SongsOfFaithAndDevotion'' and ''Music/{{Ultra}}'', the end result of the group once again being faced with personal crisis. Specifically, chief songwriter Martin Gore had gone through an acrimonious divorce as a result of more than a decade of battling alcoholism, with the music and lyrics on the album vividly characterizing his state of mind at the time.

Sound-wise, the band also makes greater use of analog synthesizers to an extent not seen since the early 80's, deviating from the heavy use of digital synths and samplers that had previously characterized their Gothic DarkWave sound. Furthermore, the album sees David Gahan step into a songwriting role for the first time, specifically providing the lyrics for "Suffer Well", "I Want It All"[[note]]no connection to the single by Music/{{Queen}}; it's probably not even a ShoutOut[[/note]] and "Nothing's Impossible". The end result of all of this is an album that is both familiar and new, returning to previously tread ground while planting new seeds into it.