| | Full Review | Ratings (343) |
Give your Rating |
| 3.5 great | Bedex | November 2nd 21 |
The comparison with LP1 is almost obligatory, as this one is also best appreciated mostly ironically. I think on this one the band feels more accomplished (which is surprising given the loss of personnel), but to counterbalance that the LP lacks a flagship track like Just Can't Get Enough on LP1. 1 shows us this more 'abouti' side already as well as sadder vibes than anything on LP1. 2 has some truly excellent synthwork which is the highlight on this alb tbh, and more post-unkey vox than ever before, but it also has some kinda funny bleep bloops especially in the intro before 40s. 3 is slower, and colder, but also less engaging. It has a bit of a Disney villain vibe with its corny melodies, and this will be a recurring theme as I could have almost the same comment on the haunted house halloween synthpop 5, or 6, or in a different way the christmassy 8 which is quite a functional track nonetheless. 4 is a cute instrumental that almost sounds like a joke jdg track, though it does have brief but excellent synths just before min 2. 7 is also a cute track but sounds a bit funny like the outdatedness of LP1 (which applies to most tracks here), 9 is another one of those cute instrumentals, and 10 concludes the album on a slow burney note which isn't ideal, alhtough the conclusion section itself is well crafted with its prolonged layering and repetition. An okay album with some sparks of excellence amidst mostly fun but not very good material. 3.3
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.5 average | Alabaster Jones | April 27th 16 |
After Vince Clarke left the band in 1981, Depeche Mode turned to Martin Gore to become the primary songwriter, and while this move would pay dividends in the future, there were definitely some growing pains to be fought through. Enter their sophomore album A Broken Frame, which is largely middling, boring, uneventful synthpop besides a truly wonderful opener in "Leave In Silence" and a solid closer in "The Sun & The Rainfall". Besides the bookends, though, the songwriting here is unfortunately stagnant, with many of the songs being devoid of any energy or emotion as they mope along in what seems like an increasingly slower pace. A good melody might break through this monotony here or there, but on the whole the album fails to impress. All this said, it's clear that this was a mere misstep for the group, which ended up building on the better moments found here on their next record.
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| 3.5 great | DutchDevotee | March 6th 12 |
The review from analoguecrazy4 is spot on. Two weak songs and a lot of foresight in what was to come. Great album and one I put on quite regularly.
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| 3.5 great | Tom93M | March 10th 11 |
Without Vince Clark's influence, DM created one of the most intriguing albums in their catalogue, sprinkled with oddity, melancholic beats and a lone underrated classic 'The Sun and the Rainfall'.
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| 4.0 excellent | analoguecrazy4 | January 11th 11 |
The sound of Martin finding his feet. The album contains such gems as Leave In Silence, The Sun And The Rainfall and Nothing To Fear; and hints at the darker more atmospheric direction the band were heading. However; the poor sounding production and a couple of forgettable songs prevent the album from reaching the highs of other Depeche Mode albums.
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| 2.5 average | Lassie | February 22nd 24 |
| 2.0 poor | doofy | January 7th 24 |
| 3.5 great | ashamed | December 13th 23 |
| 3.5 great | Veldin | November 8th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | Cam | April 23rd 23 |
| 3.5 great | fifek | March 20th 23 |
| 2.5 average | Timmy | January 12th 23 |
| 3.0 good | MvdW | November 25th 22 |
| 2.5 average | kildare | September 28th 22 |
| 2.5 average | Djokoll | September 19th 22 |
| 2.5 average | MUSEli | July 19th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Brabiz | July 17th 22 |
| 2.5 average | Zeuzo | December 5th 21 |
| 3.5 great | biggzhc | September 17th 21 |
| 2.5 average | Icw70 | September 11th 21 |
| 3.0 good | Jerrad | August 10th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | pabcel | May 29th 21 |
| 2.0 poor | fog CONTRIBUTOR | February 22nd 21 |
| 3.0 good | heck | February 8th 21 |
| 3.0 good | Jrzg85 | December 18th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Yep321 | July 19th 20 |
| 3.0 good | degina | February 29th 20 |
| 1.5 very poor | Bossie | October 26th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | jk2two | June 28th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | Snuron | January 22nd 19 |
| 2.5 average | bbgames | August 23rd 18 |
| 2.5 average | Nero | May 25th 18 |
| 2.5 average | ArvidL | January 26th 18 |
| 2.5 average | Fear | December 10th 17 |
| 3.0 good | vale | October 30th 17 |
| 5.0 classic | KOZAKY | October 17th 17 |
| 2.0 poor | igi78 | September 20th 17 |
| 5.0 classic | aghast | July 20th 17 |
| 2.5 average | wg98 | May 12th 17 |
| 3.0 good | bSmith | January 6th 17 |
| 2.5 average | DaveD | September 3rd 16 |
| 3.5 great | abysmo | February 17th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Keating | December 26th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Log S. | December 2nd 15 |
| 3.0 good | edirp | June 6th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | HasseC | April 16th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Dav85 | February 1st 15 |
| 3.0 good | Escain | January 6th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | fuzzbutt | December 29th 14 |
| 3.5 great | alin1 | December 28th 14 |
| 3.0 good | nobouk | October 29th 14 |
| 3.0 good | Trey STAFF | March 10th 14 |
| 3.0 good | lotus62 | September 25th 13 |
| 3.0 good | t67 | August 17th 13 |
| 3.0 good | MF79 | July 15th 13 |
| 3.0 good | goat38 | March 28th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Lobber | February 4th 13 |
| 3.5 great | Majkl | January 25th 13 |
| 3.5 great | Atheus | November 29th 12 |
| 5.0 classic | raithen | August 22nd 12 |
| 3.5 great | erdi | May 8th 12 |
| 2.0 poor | virpi | February 25th 12 |
| 2.5 average | tmm87 | December 29th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | ppW | November 26th 11 |
| 3.0 good | Cayit | September 23rd 11 |
| 2.5 average | GenBK | August 10th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | iggy00 | March 18th 11 |
| 1.5 very poor | Titan50 | October 10th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | IAJP | August 14th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Smevin | February 7th 10 |
| 3.5 great | aeuk | November 16th 09 |
| 1.5 very poor | ferrum | November 4th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Boaz | May 1st 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | awannam | April 30th 09 |
| 2.5 average | kygermo | August 19th 08 |
| 1.5 very poor | MBS | April 28th 08 |
| 2.0 poor | Kaleid | December 20th 06 |
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