As the primary songwriter for Depeche Mode, Martin Gore has little left to prove, which may be why he's lent his voice to so few exterior projects. With only a single covers album to his name, 2003's Counterfeit², Gore has put his focus on instrumental work as of late, releasing a collaborative album with former bandmate Vince Clarke in 2012 under the name VCMG. On MG, his first solo album of original material, Gore further explores vocal-less electronics, providing the listener with 16 digestible and enjoyable tracks.
It's more than expected that anything coming from the mind of Martin Gore would be moody and gloomy, but tracks like the multi-layered "Pinking," the thorny "Spiral" and the pulsating "Southerly" manage to sound surprisingly stylish and forward-facing. Though some of MG comes off unfinished and thematically skeletal, Gore does a fine job at utilizing a multitude of sounds on experimental-leaning tracks like "Creeper" and "Trysting." For a songwriter as accomplished as Martin Gore, MG stands as a brave and gutsy release from an artist working to escape his comfort zone.
(Mute)It's more than expected that anything coming from the mind of Martin Gore would be moody and gloomy, but tracks like the multi-layered "Pinking," the thorny "Spiral" and the pulsating "Southerly" manage to sound surprisingly stylish and forward-facing. Though some of MG comes off unfinished and thematically skeletal, Gore does a fine job at utilizing a multitude of sounds on experimental-leaning tracks like "Creeper" and "Trysting." For a songwriter as accomplished as Martin Gore, MG stands as a brave and gutsy release from an artist working to escape his comfort zone.
