Depeche Mode – Spirit
There is an argument often made about artists in Depeche Mode’s position, which suggests their new albums exist primarily as an excuse to announce tours, on which they fill arenas on the basis of music they made 25 or 30 years ago. The assumption is the public has no real desire to hear what they’ve been up to lately. Albums like this one would suggest that may not be the case. Following 2013’s Delta Machine, Depeche Mode (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher) return with their 14th studio album, and most politically charged material to date. Spirit, the band’s second release on Columbia Records, sees the band return to form in a moving, mournful, state of the union address. It opens with “Going Backwards”, a bleaker, internet mob-inspired take on Devo’s theory of de-evolution. “We’re going backwards, armed with new technology, we’re going backwards to a caveman mentality.” It includes a literal call to action on “Where’s The Revolution?” and ends with “Fail”, on which Martin Gore offers the unpromising conclusion: “Our consciences are bankrupt – we’re fucked.”
4 of 5 stars
