{"id":10594,"date":"2017-03-31T17:12:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T21:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=10594"},"modified":"2021-06-11T10:49:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T14:49:11","slug":"depeche-mode-gets-political-spiritual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/depeche-mode-gets-political-spiritual\/","title":{"rendered":"Depeche Mode Gets More Political Than Spiritual"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cover
Where’s The Revolution: Despite its radically different approach to the typical Depeche Mode sound, Spirit is still an enjoyable effort by the pioneers of electronic music.
PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA RECORDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sure, dozens of other outlets reviewing Depeche Mode\u2019s <\/span>Spirit<\/span><\/i> have writer’s old enough to remember the day this quirky, electronic group released their synthpop debut titled <\/span>Speak and Spell<\/span><\/i>, while others were there to witness them go into grunge and alternative rock territory with the release of <\/span>Songs of Faith and Devotion. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Whatever the case, the point is I may not have the same history with this legendary group as other writers have. Depeche Mode has been around for more than 30 years, released 14 studio albums and seen a fair share of members come and go. Now, 36 years after the aforementioned debut, <\/span>Spirit <\/span><\/i>has been released to stream. <\/span><\/p>\n

To sum up my countless listens and analyzations, I will say this: <\/span>Spirit <\/span><\/i>is a good album. It\u2019s not perfect and may overstay its welcome, but it works. It achieves what albums by bands from the 80s and 90s try so hard to do but ultimately fail\u2014be good despite having the highest of standards. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not surprising to know that the album (or at least the first half) is very politically charged. Lead songwriter Martin Gore has always had a penchant for social and political commentary, as seen with <\/span>Spirit’s <\/span><\/i>lead single, \u201cWhere\u2019s the Revolution.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, subtlety is not one of the album\u2019s strongest points. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lyrically, the album makes it very clear that the current political climate is deteriorating. Song titles like \u201cGoing Backwards\u201d and \u201cThe Worst Crime\u201d already give away their politically charged stances, and it\u2019s very groan-inducing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Political satire and commentary is never a bad thing and when done right (like in other Depeche Mode albums) it can be witty and impactful. Here, Gore seems to throw all that subtlety out of the industrial sounding window and dives deep into his 80s-filled paranoia thanks to our wonderful commander in chief. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the first half of the album is so heavy-handed, the second half is filled with some of the best sounds this group has delivered in years. Building upon the sound from 2013\u2019s <\/span>Delta Machine (<\/span><\/i>which in turn was building upon 1990\u2019s <\/span>Violator<\/span><\/i>), it uses an industrial-like sound reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (a group definitely influenced by Depeche Mode). Lyrically, the second half is full of innuendo, clever wordplay, and some more sardonic rhymes that Gore has been famous for since the beginning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Spirit <\/span><\/i>is not perfect. I wouldn\u2019t rank it among my favorite Depeche Mode albums, since that goes to 1984\u2019s <\/span>Some Great Reward, <\/span><\/i>but it\u2019s still an enjoyable effort by the pioneers of electronic music. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m done crying over the words to \u201cSomebody,\u201d the political hysteria of <\/span>Spirit <\/span><\/i>is able to pick me back up.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sure, dozens of other outlets reviewing Depeche Mode\u2019s Spirit have writer’s old enough to remember the day this quirky, electronic group released their synthpop debut titled Speak and Spell, while others were there to witness them go into grunge and alternative rock territory with the release of Songs of Faith and Devotion. Whatever the case, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"featured_media":10595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[36,209,423],"class_list":{"0":"post-10594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ae","8":"tag-music","9":"tag-album-review","10":"tag-alternative-indie"},"yoast_head":"\nDepeche Mode Gets More Political Than Spiritual<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 14th studio album released by Depeche Mode, Spirit, was released on March 17 and has been received as Dave Gahan\u2019s most deeply political work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/depeche-mode-gets-political-spiritual\/\" 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