Compassionizer - 2025 - A Tribute to Depeche Mode

(40:34; Compassionizer)






















I spent a lot of the Eighties listening to hard rock/metal and heading back into the Seventies to listen to classic prog as I just didn’t get much of what was going on in the pop charts, and consequently while I was certainly aware of Depeche Mode, I never voluntarily listened to any of their music and own none of their releases. In the UK they have had 54 songs in the charts, 17 Top 10 albums, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and are still a working entity more than 40 years after they originally started, but I can’t name a single song of theirs so to be presented with a tribute EP containing six songs and lasting 41 minutes is somewhat difficult to review. Or is it?

As I don’t recognise any of the songs all I can do is treat this as an EP of new material, as I cannot comment on whether the interpretation adds anything to the original, shines a new light or brings to the fore some unrecognised hidden beauty. Mostly instrumental, we have Serghei Liubcenco (guitars, rubab, drums, doira, dholak, vocoder, maracas), Leonid Perevalov (bass clarinets), Ivan Rozmainsky (synths) and AndRey Stefinoff (clarinets) joined by Sabina Vostner (vocals, ukulele) with Alexey Krupa providing Theremin on the last two tracks. Rozmainsky has long been a master of intriguing and interesting arrangements, and here he has managed to turn synth pop into modern classical and chamber music with the two clarinettists often taking the lead roles. In fact, Ivan often takes quite a back seat, acting more as master of ceremonies and ensuring there is room for everyone to have their say, with Liubcenco providing some wonderful percussion which has far more in common with Jazz or tribal music, but also drops other instruments in and out when the time is right to add some more nuances.

That this EP is a thing of beauty is never in doubt, and I have found myself wondering whether I should give Depeche Mode another chance, but then I remember just what they sounded like 30 years ago and I think I will give it a miss as there is already way too much music out there for me to investigate. Whether this will be of interest to Depeche Mode fans is open to debate as it is so far removed from that pop synth style, but those who want to discover something a little different will find much on here to enjoy. The guys have even made this available free of charge through Bandcamp, so what do you have to lose?

Kev Rowland, December 2025

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