Susanna and the Magical Orchestra "Enjoy the Silence"

And finally, we can. Depeche Mode's original, from a mind-bendingly long ago 1990 (!) took one of Martin Gore's most perfectly realized compositions and approached it from the post-New Romantic electro-perspective that Violator did more perfectly than any other album of its ilk, by like three miles. And "Enjoy the Silence," it turns out, was the only top 10 single from an album that could realistically have spawned four or five, it was that good. But while the song's production, with all of its clipped cathedral chanting, laser-synths and echoed, deserted guitars, has aged remarkably well (with echoes heard all the way to this year's Silent Shout), it has also always distracted attention from the pure haunting affect of the lyrics, perhaps Gore's best. Susanna and the Magical Orchestra have taken steps to rectify that issue with their version (mp3). The duo, who will soon release an album comprised of like-minded rethinkings called Melody Mountain, use the traditional cover trope of addition by subtraction, and Susanna (Walumred)'s vocals echo every line like it's being spoken post-apocalypse to the only person left on earth, who just happens to be the only person she has ever needed. Marten Qvenild (from the great Norwegian prog/jazz combo Jaga Jazzist) dials the instrumentation back to an electronic whisper, before bringing in a harp during the second chorus to appease any remaining fear and to usher in some much needed quiet.

Melody Mountain comes out 8/22 via Rune Grammofon.