Hydrology

Building on his first Recoil album, Alan Wilder contained his lengthy instrumental approach on 1988’s Hydrology, consisting of three compositions often echoing the obsessive repetition of contemporary Depeche Mode tracks. “Stone” was the most striking of the three, feeling like a miniature movie soundtrack in several parts, part action flick, part dystopian science fictions, but the steady build of “The Sermon” was equally enjoyable. The CD version of the album contains the earlier 1+2 release for a good general summary of Wilder’s earliest solo work.