The Third Chimpanzee - EP

Editors’ Notes Martin Gore’s first two solo releases—1989’s Counterfeit EP and 2003’s Counterfeit 2—did not hugely differ from his work in Depeche Mode. Both highlighted his guileless tenor and gracefully downcast synth-pop; it was easy to imagine encountering any of the records’ songs on Depeche Mode’s contemporaneous albums. But Gore’s fascination with modular synthesizers has since led him in search of a different kind of sound: harder, more minimal, buzzing like a jolt of pure electricity. The Third Chimpanzee sticks with the palette established on 2012’s techno-flavored Ssss, made with Erasure’s Vince Clarke under their VCMG alias, and further developed on Gore’s 2015 solo album MG. Synth patches sizzle and zap, gurgle and squelch; jagged waveforms have the tarnished tone of rusty scrap metal. The throbbing “Mandrill” is among the hardest, meanest tracks in Gore’s catalog, with a synth lead that whines like a circular saw, but he also explores quieter, more contemplative terrain, like the slow-motion dub techno of “Vervet.” He can’t resist the occasional glance back at his past: “Howler’s End” harnesses weary brass stabs reminiscent of early albums like A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again, while the triplet accents of “Capuchin” invariably echo “Personal Jesus.” Even in new sounds, there are traces of old glories.