One of life's many ambiguities, Depeche Mode most definitely falls into the love/hate category: `Love' them for their artful, synth-pop arrangements, a style it helped pioneer; `hate' them for their occasional pretentiousness and pomposity. So on this, its tenth album, one wouldn't think Depeche Mode would have much left to prove, yet on Songs Of Faith And Devotion the quartet has re-examined its music and approach to come up with a challenging overhaul, not unlike U2's own reassessment with Achtung Baby. Forgetting the superficial comparisons to U2's record-namely Flood's production work and Anton Corbijn's sepia-tone photos-the truth is that while U2 traded in some of its epic guitar signatures for beats and irony, Depeche Mode picked up a Gretsch and found a whole new spiritual optimism. The much-touted guitar sound on the terrific single "I Feel You" is a bit hyped, but the attitude is certainly not. "Condemnation" glows with warmth and is complemented by a rolling piano background, while the testimony of faith and love on "Judas" and "Get Right With Me is Depeche Mode's strongest to date.

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