HAVING contributed three telling tunes to Depeche Mode's last album Playing the Angel, those who sniffed at the boy's debut effort, Paper Monsters, had to reappraise their thoughts about his writing. Hourglass should give them more to contemplate with a solid, if unflashy, collection of grubby electronica that channels the feel of the mother-band without simply copying it.

Saw Something makes for a bombastic opener with its leaky guitar lines. It's a theme that continues through Insoluble and Deeper and Deeper as Gahan opens his heart in his lyrics. More effective are the eloquent pretty Miracles and album closer, Down.

Depeche Mode fans will find much to their liking here, for the rest of us though, it can be a bit of a struggle.