Rocktrospectiva: The Experimental "Exciter" Turns 25

Released on 14 May 2001 "Exciter" was the 10th., studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. The album was produced by Mark Bell, and was supported by the Exciter Tour, one of the band's most successful tours. The album spawned four singles "Dream On", "I Feel Loved", "Freelove" & "Goodnight To Lovers."

 

Exciter debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and number eight on the Billboard 200, it was the only Depeche Mode album to debut higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom. 

The plant that appears on the cover is the Agave attenuata, a species of agave sometimes known as the "lion's tail", "swan's neck", or "foxtail" for its development of a curved stem, unusual among agaves.

 

Lyrically, the album covers many different subjects. Martin Gore said that "The Dead of Night" was inspired by a club in London where there were a lot of drugs and mayhem. Gore told MTV Europe that "I Feel Loved" is about when you "feel absolutely like shit, and you feel the worst you've ever felt in your life. Then somehow you think: 'the universe must like me, for making me feel like this'". 

 

Musically, Exciter can be described as a very atmospheric and electronic album. Gore had stated that he had been listening to more abstract electronic music in the lead up to recording Exciter, which could have influenced some of the more experimental soundscapes on the album. The group also often cited producer Mark Bell as a major inspiration in the making of Exciter as Gahan states that Mark Bell helped make him a more confident vocalist.  The band also worked with Paul Freegard and long-time collaborator Gareth Jones, who were involved with pre-production and programming. 

 

On top of the electronic soundscapes, Depeche Mode also added elements of traditional blues, retro funk, progressive rock, and orchestral pop to its arrangements. Bell told Keyboard magazine that they treated the acoustic and electronic sounds on the track "Dream On" the same. Gore felt that many songs of the album including "When the Body Speaks" have a 1950s or 1960s sound to them. "Comatose" was massively stripped down from the original demo since the band wanted a more minimalistic arrangement. "Freelove" was one of the final tracks to be completed on the album. "The Dead of Night" features a harsher sound compared to other tracks on the album, making heavy use of analogue synths such as the EMS Synthi AKS; the practice of largely using analogue synths would become common on later albums by the band. 

 

Bell found working with the group fun but strange, stating he had listened to the group when he was 12 and found the band asking him for days off or "what they should eat". According to an interview with Gahan in 2003, Gore's lack of involvement with the production led to Bell feeling frustrated and that he was essentially creating the album for the band

 

Exciter received generally positive reviews. While many critics praised the album's experimental and digital soundscapes, some felt it was one of the weakest Depeche Mode albums. Some positive reviews wrote that "Not many long-running groups could make an album this fresh and confident in their 20th year, never mind one which bridges timeless soulman crooning and underground techno".  In contrast other criticised the sound of the record in which there was no emotion or remarkable tracks.

 

Exciter Track List: 

 

1. Dream On

2. Shine

3. The Sweetest Condition

4. When The Body Speaks

5. The Dead Of Night

6. Lovetheme

7. Freelove

8. Comatose

9. I Feel Loved

10. Breather

11. Easy Tiger

12. I Am You

13. Goodnight Lovers