Written by: Eric Alves on April 20, 2009.

Depeche Mode Sounds of the Universe

Avoiding the trend of making music that increasingly relies on computers, Depeche Mode prefer to keep their heavily electronic sounds grounded in the tangibility of analog instruments. In Sounds of the Universe, this preference results in a lush sonic texture that reverberates with emotion while maintaining their theme of astral pensiveness.

Hole to Feed pulsates with a tribal beat, laced with a simple guitar riff that drives the famished undertone of the song. The pulse slows to a nervous palpitation in Wrong, the lead single from the album that outlines a life of misfortunes in coarse guitars with a confessional singing style, amounting to a catchy catharsis.

Ticking clocks and throbbing synthesizers begin Come Back, a passionate plea for a long estranged lover to return, coalescing stellar sounds perfectly into what becomes one of Depeche Modes most exceptional tracks released this millennium.

An undulating rumble pervades Jezebel, an unexpectedly beautiful poem about a harlot with a heart of gold. While the almost forcedly rhyming lyrical couplets are endearing, the core of the track is carried by the hypnotic instrumental portions, which again manage to be haunting, celestial and emotional all at once.

Sounds of the Universe ends with the sinister Corrupt, a threatening reminder that one should never completely surrender in the name of love- lest that love turn into a game of power no one wants to lose.

Unlike 2005s Playing the Angel, which had some low points, their latest release is consistent and cohesive, feeling illustrative of a band that knows how to imbue substance and style into their music with subtlety and panache. With Sounds of the Universe, the only objection listeners may raise is that Depeche Mode has created yet another contender for best album in their already extensive and colorful discography.

Glass Candy -

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Throwback sounds, ironic aerobics in new albums

BOW, N.H. Combine Twister, paint-by-numbers and the ancient Hindu practice of breath control, meditation and poses, and you get Yoga by Numbers.

The approach complete with a numbered mat was designed by a Boston woman whose own health scare inspired her to put yoga in reach for people with physical limitations, tight schedules or other roadblocks to traditional practice.

The oversized yoga mat is dotted with big, numbered circles that look like the target in a rifle scope. The accompanying DVD gives true yoga beginners those who wouldnt know an up-dog from a Chihuahua a step-by-step roadmap to learn the poses at their own pace.

Elizabeth Morrow was an athlete, a skier and soccer player who, two years ago, found herself hospitalized with a right lung full of blood clots, the lower lobe completely collapsed. When she was strong enough to start exercising again, she found even the easiest of yoga classes too taxing. She didnt have the stamina for an hour, couldnt hold the poses the way the instructor wanted.

So, the 32-year-old started thinking of ways to make it easier, more convenient and even more fundamental than the myriad DVDs already on the market.

I was thinking about a paint-by-number kit where you dont need to be Picasso or van Gogh, you just follow what they tell you and youll come out with something, she said. I just wanted something that felt really accessible and doable for people. The image of the mat just popped into my head: Wow, I can do yoga by numbers as well.

The DVD tells users exactly which circle to put their hands and feet in and allows for advancement to more challenging poses.

Yoga by Numbers has been compared to Twister, the popular game with giant colored circles, spinning wheel and crazy, cross-limbed poses. But Morrows cool with that, even when it comes from critics.

I think its awesome when they have that reaction because to me, that means they get it and they know how to use it, said Morrow, a certified yoga instructor.

Morrow has sold to people who live far from a yoga studio, those with tight schedules who need to squeeze in practice whenever they can, and people with health conditions. The National Institutes of Healths National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine reports that recent studies of people with chronic low-back pain suggest yoga can help reduce pain and improve function. Other research shows regular practice might reduce heart rate, blood pressure and stress and may help relieve anxiety and depression.

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Yoga by Numbers brings poses to people