Paper Monsters

Studio album by Dave Gahan

Released

2 June 2003 (Europe)
3 June 2003 (North America)

Recorded

2003

Genre

Alternative rock

Length

47:44

Label

Mute, Reprise

Producer

Ken Thomas

Dave Gahan chronology

Paper Monsters
(2003)

Hourglass
(2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC	(Positive)
Blender
The Music Box
Pitchfork Media	(6.9/10)
Slant

Paper Monsters is the solo debut album by Depeche Mode's lead singer Dave Gahan. It was released by Mute Records on 2 June 2003 in Europe. The album was produced by Ken Thomas, who is best known for his work with Icelandic band Sigur Rós. Upon its debut, critical reception was generally mixed; while many complimented the album's personal subject matter, others described it as lacking depth. Paper Monsters became a modest success in the UK where it debuted at number thirty-six on the albums chart, but it was a big success in the German, Swedish and Swiss charts, reaching the Top 10 there. In North America, the album was released on 3 June 2003; however, it failed to make much of an impact on the mainstream charts, although the "Paper Monsters Tour" had some impact, especially on Depeche Mode fans. One concert of the tour, the one on 4-5.07 in Paris at the Olympia, was recorded and released on a DVD called "Live Monsters".

From this album, four songs were released on three singles: "Dirty Sticky Floors", "I Need You" and "Bottle Living"/"Hold On" (the last was a double A-side, so two album songs were released on the same single: "Bottle Living" and "Hold On"). The three reached the UK Top 40.

Gahan first played with the idea of releasing a solo album after the release of Depeche Mode's Exciter in 2001, but approached the project slowly. It was not until he began writing music with friend and musician Knox Chandler that he gained the self-confidence he needed to begin to consider working on an album of his own material.

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Wikipedia